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Many taboos and a high resistance to change are the hallmark of posthumous rituals and customs among all Slavic peoples, which has helped maintain their archaic nature. According to Slavic beliefs, in the otherworld, the souls of the deceased who were kind-hearted during their lifetime join the group of their ancestors who guard the living, providing them with prosperity and fertility. In return, living descendants had an obligation to periodically organize commemorations for the deceased, invoke memories of them, and make (food) offerings meant for the salvation of their souls. On the other hand, Slavs believed that the deceased who died prematurely or violently, or those who were dishonourable throughout their lives, became “the revenant deceased” or “the impure deceased” and could bring harm, sickness, and death to the living. For these reasons, people tended to prepare all of the dead—particularly the ones whose souls could potentially become members of the “impure” group—adequately for the funeral and to see their souls off from this world following traditional rites. This research is based on the presupposition that, among folk beliefs, customs, and rituals regarding the deceased (and their souls), there is a substratum whose archaic nature reaches back to the period when Slavic peoples lived together. These are folk beliefs and customs which appear in all three groups of Slavic peoples but are not related to any of the predominant religions, primarily Christianity, nor did they emerge under the influences of those religions. The sources used in the research include a published ethnographic corpus of data and scientific papers on posthumous rites among the Slavs. Also taken into account were archaeological, historical, and linguistic sources.

This paper introduces the concept of behavioral philosophy, discusses its relationship to philosophical counseling and psychotherapy, and focuses on the concept of normalcy as the normative foundation for a broader discussion on pathology versus philosophical dysfunctionality in life. Following the starting definitions, the argument proceeds to considering how normalcy as a normative foundation of both behavioral philosophy and philosophical counseling and of psychotherapy (along with pathology and pathologization) plays a role in the perspective of behavioral self-improvement sought by behavioral philosophy and by psychotherapy (for various reasons, depending on the psychotherapeutic school and methodology). The author concludes that normalcy, rather than pathology or mental disorder, is the focal concept to discuss in order to understand the role of spirituality and spiritual conviction and belief within the context of therapeutic change, whether it is interpreted philosophically or strictly psychotherapeutically.

This paper introduces the concept of behavioral philosophy, discusses its relationship to philosophical counseling and psychotherapy, and focuses on the concept of normalcy as the normative foundation for a broader discussion on pathology versus philosophical dysfunctionality in life. Following the starting definitions, the argument proceeds to considering how normalcy as a normative foundation of both behavioral philosophy and philosophical counseling and of psychotherapy (along with pathology and pathologization) plays a role in the perspective of behavioral self-improvement sought by behavioral philosophy and by psychotherapy (for various reasons, depending on the psychotherapeutic school and methodology). The author concludes that normalcy, rather than pathology or mental disorder, is the focal concept to discuss in order to understand the role of spirituality and spiritual conviction and belief within the context of therapeutic change, whether it is interpreted philosophically or strictly psychotherapeutically.