Psychology without Foundations
History, Philosophy and Psychosocial Theory
- Steve D Brown - Nottingham Trent University, UK
- Paul Stenner - Open Univeristy, UK, The Open University, UK
Critical Psychology
This new book proposes a way out of the crisis by letting go of the idea that psychology needs new foundations or a new identity, whether biological, discursive or cognitive. The psychological is not narrowly confined to any one aspect of human experience; it is quite literally everywhere.
The book proposes a strong process-oriented approach to the psychological, which studies events or occasions. Aspects of experience such as communication or embodiment are treated as thoroughly mediated - the product of multiple intersecting relationships between the biological, the psychic and the social. The outcome is an image of a mobile, reflexively founded discipline which follows the psychological wherever it takes us, from the depths of embodiment to the complexities of modern global politics.
`On the showing of this book, "Critical Psychology" (for want of a better label) has a long way to run, and a lot of work to do yet. It may well become required reading, so get in early - but expect some mind-stretching and moments of bewilderment. Oh - and recommend it to undergraduate students too; tell them how "accessible" it is - and run. They'll thank you when writing up their doctorates' - History and Philosophy of Psychology
