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Chapter Summary

Chapter 1

This chapter reviews the nature of science and of history, exploring the ways in which people throughout the ages have attempted to make sense of the world. Throughout this review, the chapter surveys the various ways in which psychology might be a science. The chapter begins with the image of modern science and the various ways the philosophy of science has tried to understand how science works. It surveys the Newtonian style, positivism, and the nomological and causal approaches. The chapter then turns to describing theories about scientific theories, reviewing both syntactic and semantic approaches. Next, the chapter reviews theories about the nature of scientific change, exploring questions about why and when scientists change their theories, reviewing naturalistic and methodological approaches, and describing falsificationism reduction and replacement. The section on science concludes with theories that consider science as a worldview, and begins with a survey of the history of science and the place of psychology within it.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the legacy of Ancient Greece, or the Greek miracle—thinking about nature and human beings through philosophy and science rather than through revelation. The chapter begins with an examination of the social context of Greece during the Bronze (3000-1200 B.C.E.) and Dark Ages (1200-700 B.C.E.) and the influence of the warrior ethos on Greek philosophical psychology and ethics. Next, the chapter explores the Archaic Period (700-500 B.C.E.), the affects of the phalanx mentality, and the role of the democratic polis in spawning the critical tradition of philosophy and science. The chapter introduces the first natural philosophers, first protopsychologists, and the atomists before turning to an examination of the Classical Period and the great classical philosophies of Plato and Aristotle. The chapter concludes by describing the lasting impact that theoria, contemplation rather than investigation of nature, would ultimately have on the history of science and psychology.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 begins with an overview of the Hellenistic (323-31 B.C.E.) and Roman (31 B.C.E.-476 C.E.) periods of Classical Antiquity when Greek culture and language furnished the basis for philosophy, science, and much of everyday life in Western civilization. Although the Romans conquered Greece, they were themselves conquered by Greek culture, which they then spread throughout the Mediterranean and into the southern parts of Europe and Great Britain. The chapter reviews the therapeutic philosophies of happiness, ideas related to the religious impulse, and Early Christianity during this time period. The chapter then turns to historical debates about possible causes of the fall of the Roman Empire, including whether it really did “fall,” or simply transitioned to the medieval life of Late Antiquity (476-1000), formerly called the Dark Ages. This includes an examination of the social context of the new medieval world with the transition to serfdom and feudalism. Next, the chapter explores the psychology of Late Antiquity and the influence of Ibn Sina on the construction of high medieval philosophy and psychology. From this, the chapter turns to ideas regarding the nature and value of individual human minds and the ways in which aspects of the social understanding of individuals and of individual minds during Late Antiquity again resembled those of the old Greek Bronze Age.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 begins with an overview of the main developments that occurred between the Middle Ages and the Scientific Revolution. It explores the intellectual renaissance within medieval psychology as scholars rediscovered many classical Greek works, creativity flourished, and the first universities appeared. The chapter describes the influence of St. Thomas Aquinas’s ideas during this time period before turning to the Late Middle Ages, the time period following the Black Death, and the influence of William of Ockham in reviving empiricism. From there, the chapter explores the rise of the concept of the individual during the High Middle Ages as expressed through literary themes of fin amour, mysticism, and ethics. The chapter also explores the ways in which the Renaissance perfected a worldview with the implicit idea that all things in the universe are linked in a grand order that we can decipher through resemblance, and where the human being occupied the central place within this order. The chapter concludes with an exploration of the revival of humanism and the development of naturalism, and examines their expression in literary works by Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Cervantes, while contrasting the prevailing social climate of skepticism, superstition, and anxiety.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 provides an overview of the Scientific Revolution that occurred during the seventeenth century and explores the ways in which the developments of this time period laid the foundation for the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. The chapter begins by exploring the questions of why the Scientific Revolution occurred when and where it did. It describes the slower spread of Christianity as compared to Islam, the separation of church and state, and the creation of universities as safer havens for free inquiry. It goes on to examine the mechanization of the world picture and the roles played by Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton in the shift toward a clockwork conception of the universe. Next, the chapter explores the development of two distinct scientific traditions as defined by Kuhn, the mathematical or classical sciences and the experimental or Baconian sciences. This is followed by a discussion of psychology’s “invention” by Descartes with the radical conception of consciousness as an inner mental space, which stood in sharp contrast to Aristotle’s realist theory of perception. The chapter then turns to Leibniz’s framework for thinking about consciousness, mind-body parallelism and the ways this eventually led to a solution for Descartes’ mind-body problem. Finally, the chapter explores the ways in which seventeenth century thinkers such as Hobbes, Spinoza, and Pascal wrestled with an evaluation of humanity’s place in the world.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 provides an overview of the Enlightenment which occurred between 1700 and 1815. The chapter traces the progression of science and reason as the replacement for religion as the chief intellectual institution of modern society. It begins by considering variations of the Enlightenment as it occurred in France, England, Germany, and the American colonies and the key players in each country. As part of this discussion, the chapter also considers the importance of the Enlightenment with its emphasis on experimentation and bending nature to human will to the later Industrial Revolution. Next, the chapter turns to the question of whether knowledge is attainable with a look at the work of Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Hartley, Reid, and Kant. From there, the chapter turns to the moral question, is society natural, by exploring both French Naturalism and the ideas of La Mettrie, and French Empiricism and the ideas of Bonnot de Condillac, plus their consequences as illustrated by Helvetius. Next, the chapter reviews the enlightened ethical philosophies, including Utilitarianism, the ethics of duty, and the ethics of sensibility and the ways in which psychological ideas were applied to social engineering. After reviewing the status of women during the Enlightenment, the chapter concludes with a look at the Counter-Enlightenment and the ideas of Vico, Herder, Rousseau, and Mesmer.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 reviews the ascent of science and acknowledgement of psychology as a recognized discipline during the nineteenth century. The author describes the central theme of the nineteenth century as the conflict between the new scientific naturalism and the older beliefs in a transcendent spiritual reality. The chapter first paints the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution and the ways in which it brought unparalleled material progress and tremendous urban poverty before reviewing the main movements that occurred during this time, including the Romantic Revolt, Utilitarianism, Associationism, Positivism, and Mesmerism. The author next examines the beginnings of psychology as a science with the emergence of new discoveries related to the nervous system and brain, beginning with the work of Gall, Bell, and Magendie, and including developments in experimental psychology and the mental testing of Galton and Binet. The chapter goes on to explore the ideas of leading philosophical psychologists, Bain, Tain, Lotze, and Helmholtz. This is followed by a discussion of the development of psychiatry as the treatment of the mentally ill. The chapter concludes with a discussion of French clinical psychology and the ways in which it differed from other countries in Europe.

Chapter 8

The main focus of Chapter 8 is Wilhelm Wundt’s achievement as the founder of the psychology of consciousness, and of psychology as an institution. The chapter begins with a look at William von Humboldt’s new model university and the influence of the concepts of Wissenchaft and Bildung on German culture and the development of psychology. The next part of the chapter traces the roots of Wundt’s psychology of consciousness, exploring its initial path through physiology, and his Heidelberg and Leipzig systems. The chapter then considers Wundt’s effect on the next generation of psychologists such as Kulpe and Tichener who essentially rejected Wundt’s division of psychology into a natural science and physiological psychology. The chapter also considers the contributions of Brentano and Dilthey to the phenomenological movement, Kulpe’s Würzburg School, and studies of memory. Following this, the chapter reviews the development of Gestalt psychology, its rejection of the Cartesian framework, and its ultimate reception and influence. In conclusion, the chapter summarizes the attitudes of academic German psychologists toward making psychology an applied discipline and explores the fate of the psychology of consciousness in both Germany and eventually in America.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 focuses on Sigmund Freud and his role in creating the psychology of the unconscious and the practice of psychoanalysis. The chapter begins by comparing the differences between the psychology of the unconscious with the psychology of consciousness. It then discusses the position of psychoanalysis within academic psychology, Freud’s opinion of the experimental methodology, and the affects this had on the place of psychoanalysis within mainstream psychology. The next section follows Freud’s evolving formation of psychoanalysis during 1884 to 1899, beginning with his “Project for a Scientific Psychology,” his focus on the centrality of sexuality to human development, and his role as “sexual reformer.” The chapter next turns Freud’s investigations into hypnosis and hysteria, his development of the seduction theory of hysteria, and how his eventual rejection of this theory led to the creation of psychoanalysis. The chapter then surveys Freud’s major works, including the The Interpretation of Dreams and The Classical Theory of Motivation: Three Essays in the Theory of Sexuality, before moving on to examine Freud’s later revisions to his theories of motivation and personality and his new theories on religion. The chapter concludes with an exploration of psychoanalysis’s fate by describing the various debates over its identity as a science, pseudoscience, or failed science.

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 begins by reviewing the ways in which the Aristotelian-theological concept of the Great Chain of Being, Vitalism, and discoveries in science helped pave the way for the Darwinian Revolution. It describes Darwin’s development of the theory of natural selection, by exploring its initial shaping, formulation, final publication, reception, and main influences. The chapter next moves to a discussion of the beginnings of the psychology of adaptation in Britain and the contributions of Herbert Spencer, Charles Darwin, and Francis Galton and the rise of comparative psychology. The chapter then shifts to the New World with an examination of the general intellectual and social environment of America in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the emergence of important “American” ideas, and the influences of religion and phrenology on American philosophical psychology. The author examines William James’s role as America’s Psychologist, including the significance of his book Principles of Psychology, his ideas on the reflex theory of the brain, and Jamesian pragmatism. From there, the chapter explores the historical forces behind the transition from mentalism to behavioralism. Next, the author discusses the development and significance of the Motor Theory of Consciousness and the work of Münsterberg and Dewey before turning to an exploration of the development of functional psychology in America and Europe. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the various debates about consciousness that began in 1904, including Radical Empiricism, Neorealism, and Instrumentalism and a comparison of the “New Psychology” with the “Old Psychology” in America.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 begins with a description of the new directions in animal psychology that began in the late 1800s with the transition from the anecdotal method to a new, experimental method in animal psychology. This includes descriptions of the influences of Thorndike and Pavlov, and then moves on to a discussion of the “problem of the animal mind,” Watson’s radical solution, and the rise of Behaviorism during 1919 to 1930. The author next explores the Golden Age of Theory, the period from 1930 to 1950, and the influences of logical positivism, purposive behaviorism, and mechanistic behaviorism. The chapter concludes by exploring the aftermath of the Golden Age with its internal and external crises in experimental psychology. It reviews Skinner’s radical behaviorism, including his theory as philosophy, his analysis of behavior, and his interpretations of human behavior before presenting both informal behaviorism and logical behaviorism, the “Ghost in the Machine,” and the mind as social construct.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12 presents an overview of the development of cognitive science. It begins with a discussion of the ways in which the work being done by Chomsky, the Brelands, and Garcia helped to cause the eventual decline of behaviorism in the 1950s. Following this, the author summarizes the early theories in cognitive psychology that began to emerge in the 1950s and 1960s, including the New Structuralism, Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance, the “New Look” movement, and the process of concept learning. Next, the chapter examines the rise of cognitive science and the role played by the development of purposive machines and emerging concepts about feedback, information, reverse engineering, and artificial intelligence in the founding thesis of cognitive psychology. This section continues with a discussion of the ways in which information-processing concepts were applied to human cognitive psychology and the impact of the information-processing metaphor in the 1960s, including the “myth” of the Cognitive Revolution. The chapter next explores the ongoing development of the field of cognitive science in the late 1970s with its basic thesis of functionalism, the “midlife crisis” of the 1980s, and the later developments of connectionism, cognitive neuroscience, and embodied cognition. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the debates surrounding the study of the mind at the beginning of the new millennium.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 begins with a review of the major societal changes that occurred at the beginning of the Modern Age in the 1920s. This includes a discussion of the ways in which the change from “island communities” to “everywhere communities,” the formation of the APA, and The Panic of 1893 affected psychology as defined as the study of people in the United States. The chapter next traces the origins of applied psychology to mental testing in both Britain (Galton) and France (Binet), and ultimately to the U.S. under the advocacy of Münsterberg. From there, the chapter reviews the history of clinical psychology, beginning with its founding by Witmer. The author then considers the legacy of World War I in shaping the modern world, the role of psychology in the war effort, and its impact on the institution of psychology in the twentieth century. This leads to a discussion of psychology’s role in major American social issues, including the “menace of the feebleminded,” immigration control, and eugenics. The chapter concludes with a look at psychology in everyday life during the late 1920s. This includes a discussion of the expanding influence and popularity of behavioral psychology following World War I, the youth revolt, and the reconstruction of the American family.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 examines the ways in which psychology began to influence society during the 1940s, especially in the United States, creating what may be called the first psychological society. One theme of the chapter is its exploration of the ongoing tension between academic and clinical psychologists that festered prior to World War II, resolved for a time during the war, and resumed again as the numbers of clinical psychologists outstripped academic psychology in size and importance. The chapter also explores the developing psychological society in the 1950s as psychologists sought to define the values of the new psychology and its role within society while American culture moved toward the social “revolution” of the 1960s. The chapter also discusses critiques of American culture, specifically The Myth of Mental Illness and the Humanistic critique of adjustment. The chapter ends with a review of clinical psychology during the end of the twentieth century and the main issues it faced at the start of the new millennium.