Psychological Knowledge: A Social History and Philosophy

by Martin Kusch

Overview

Psychologists and philosophers have assumed that psychological knowledge is knowledge about, and held by, the individual mind. Psychological Knowledge challenges these views. It argues that bodies of psychological knowledge are social institutions like money or the monarchy, and that mental states are social artefacts like coins or crowns.
Martin Kusch takes on arguments of alternative proposals, shows what is wrong with them, and demonstrates how his own social-philosophical approach constitutes an advance. We see that exists a substantial natural amount of philosophical theorising, a body of work that tries to determine the nature and structure of folk psychology.
An introduction to the workings of constuctivism, Psychological Knowledge is an insightful introduction to the history of psychology and the recent philosophy of mind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134738670
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/05/2005
Series:	Philosophical Issues in Science
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	428
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Martin Kusch is Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He is also the author of Psychologism, Foucault’s Strata and Fields and Language as Calculus vs. Language as the Universal Medium.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART I A social history of psychological knowledge: the controversy over thought psychology in Germany, 1900–20 Introduction to Part I 1 The Würzburgers 2 Friends and foes 3 Recluse or drillmaster versus interlocutor and interrogator 4 Purist versus promiscuist 5 Collectivist versus individualist 6 Protestant versus Catholic 7 Conclusions PART II The sociophilosophy of folk psychology Introduction to Part II 8 The folk psychology debate 9 Folk psychology as a social institution

Editorial Reviews

Psychologists have assumed that psychological knowledge is knowledge about, and held by, the mind. This work challenges these views, arguing that bodies of psychological knowledge are social institutions like money or the monarchy, and that mental states are social artifacts like coins or crowns. Introduces the workings of constructivism and explores the history of psychology and recent developments in philosophy of the mind, with sections on the social history of psychological knowledge in Germany in the early 20th century, and the sociophilosophy of folk psychology. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

Booknews

'This work is a model of clarity ... It is written by an author fully in command of his material, seeking to advance debate by serious engagement with much serious literature.' - History of Psychiatry

From the Publisher