Psychologism: The Sociology of Philosophical Knowledge / Edition 1

by Martin Kusch

Overview

First published in 1995. When did psychology become a distinct discipline? What links the continental and analytic traditions in philosophy? Answers to both questions are found in this extraordinary account of the debate surrounding psychologism in Germany at the turn of the century. The trajectory of twentieth century philosophy has been largely determined by this anti-naturalist view which holds that empirical research is in principle different from philosophical inquiry, and can never make significant contributions to the latter's central issues.

Martin Kusch explores the origins of psychologism through the work of two major figures in the history of twentieth century philosophy, Gottlob Frege and Edmund Husserl. His sociological and historical reconstruction shows how the power struggle between the experimental psychologists and pure philosophers influenced the thought of these two philosophers, shaping their agendas and determining the success of their arguments for a sharp separation of logic from psychology. A move that was crucial in the creation of the distinct discipline of psychology and was responsible for the anti-naturalism found in both the analytic and the phenomenological traditions in philosophy.

Students and lecturers in philosophy, psychology, linguistics, cognitive science and history will find this study invaluable for understanding a key moment in the intellectual history of the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415125543
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/07/1995
Series:	Philosophical Issues in Science
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

1 PSYCHOLOGISM: AN INTRODUCTION 2 TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE 3 PSYCHOLOGISM REFUTED? 4 THE CRITICISM OF HUSSERL’S ARGUMENTS AGAINST PSYCHOLOGISM IN GERMAN PHILOSOPHY, 1901–20, 5 VARIETIES OF ‘PSYCHOLOGISM’ 1866–1930, 6 ROLE HYBRIDISATION: THE RISE OF THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY 7 ROLE PURIFICATION: THE REACTION OF ‘PURE PHILOSOPHY’ AGAINST THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY 8 WINNER TAKES ALL: LEBENSPHILOSOPHIE AND THE TRIUMPH OF PHENOMENOLOGY