The Philosophy of Psychology

William O'Donohue; Richard Kitchener

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761953051 ISBN 13: 9780761953050

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1996

This major text provides the first comprehensive anthology of the key topics arising in the philosophy of psychology. Bringing together internationally renowned authors, including Herb Simon, Karl Pribram, Joseph Rychlak, Ullin T Place and Adolf Gr[um]unbaum, this volume offers a stimulating and informative addition to contemporary debate.

With the cognitive revolution of the 1960s, there has been a resurgence of interest in the study of the philosophical assumptions and implications of psychology. Several significant themes, such as the foundations of knowledge, behaviourism, rationality, emotion and cognitive science span both philosophy and psychology, and are covered here along with a wide range of issues in the fields of folk psychology, clinical psychology, neurophysiology and professional ethics.

Review:

The Philosophy of Psychology...does more than review philosophical psychology as it exists today, but also tries to move the field in new directions. The last two sections bring philosohical reflections to issues in clinical psychology. The fourth section, Clinical Psychology and Philosophy, contains two articles on philosophical concerns about psychoanalysis - a traditional area - but breaks new ground with an article questioning the soundness of the concept of rationality underpinning rational-emotive psychotherapy. The final section, Ethics and Psychology, addresses a wide range of ethical issues in psychology, including psychology's implicit values and inconsistencies between scientific psychology's belief in determinism and its insistence on informed consent in therapy and experimentation. Of special interest to teachers of psychological practitioners will be two articles about the APA's code of ethics, one of which finds it seriously wanting, whereas the other finds it a good, if flawed, attempts to define professional "goodness".

The Philosophy of Psychology is a good introduction to the field it surveys. Almost all the articles can be read by someone unfamiliar with the topics discussed, and varying points of view are well represented. It might well serve as an auxilliary text in graduate-level courses in history and systems of psychology, whereas specific chapters might be assigned to courses in ethics, cognitive science, or philosophy of mind' - Contemporary Psychology

`The very wide-ranging nature of this book means that it should not only be of interest to those on courses devoted to the philosophy of psychology, but should also be relevant to courses on ethics, cognitive science and clinical psychology, at the least. One measure of a book's usefulness should be whether it has affected one's teaching. It certainly passes that test. I recommended it to my students' - Psychology Teaching Review

About the Author:

William T. O’Donohue is a licensed clinical psychologist, professor of psychology and adjunct professor in the Department of Philosophy at University of Nevada, Reno, and a faculty member of the National Judicial College. He is widely recognized in the field for his proposed innovations in mental health service delivery, in treatment design and evaluation, and in knowledge of empirically supported cognitive behavioral therapies. He is a member of the Association for the Advancement for Behavior Therapy and served on the Board of Directors of this organization. Dr. O’Donohue has published over 50 books and 150 articles in scholarly journals and book chapters. For the past 14 years, he has been director of a free clinic that treats children who have been sexually abused and adults who have been sexually assaulted.