Theoretical issues in psychology : an introduction
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Theoretical issues in psychology : an introduction
Sage, 1997
- : pbk.
- : hbk
Available at / 30 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
Note
Bibliography: p.[170]-186
Includes indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
`As will be evident, this is a wide conspectus in textbook mode (cited authors are frequently characterized and ascribed dates). The treatment is generally clear and up-to-date. It is eclectic with a welcome inclusion of European as well as American authors.... Positive features are the introductions to and summaries of sections; and the glossary (which will certainly be found useful by students). The English is virtually impeccable.... The book is similar in scope to Bechtel's Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Science, and my own Conceptual Issues in Psychology, being more comprehensive and less partisan than Bechtel, and more philosophical and less psychological than Valentine. I am in a particularly good position to appreciate Bem and Looren de Jong's achievement and I salute them' - History and Philosophy of Psychology Newsletter
This major new textbook provides a clear and comprehensive guide to the theoretical issues at the heart of contemporary psychology. The authors have organized the text around two key questions: What is science, and to what extent does psychology exemplify scientific characteristics? What is `the mind', and what do philosophy and psychology have to say about its nature?
Exploring problems raised by philosophy, psychology and cognitive science, the authors guide the reader through the major topics in these fields, including reductionism, functionalism, relativism and the nature of consciousness. Significant figures in the philosophy of science (including Popper, Kuhn and Lakatos) as well as in the sociology and psychology of science are also introduced.
Table of Contents
THEORY OF SCIENCE FOR PSYCHOLOGY
Introduction
Knowledge, Everyday Knowledge and Science
Arguments, Laws, Theories, Models and Facts
Explanation and Understanding
Functional and Teleological Explanations
Reductionism, Supervenience and Strata
Reasons and Causes
PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE FOR PSYCHOLOGY
Introduction
Scientific Methods and Rationality
Logical Positivism and Demarcation
Problems with the Standard View of Science
Demarcation - Popper
Demarcation Abandoned - Kuhn, Lakatos, Feyerabend
Alternatives to Positivism 1 - Hermeneutics, Constructionism, Rhetoric
Problems of Realism and Relativism
Alternatives to Positivism 2 - Scientific Realism and Pragmatism
SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF SCIENCE
Introduction
Ideology and Sociology of Knowledge
Critical Theory and the Sociology of Science
The Strong Programme in the Sociology of Knowledge
The Sociology of Scientific Practice
And What about a Psychology of Science?
PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
Introduction
The Nature of Mind
The Explananda
Consciousness, Intentionality, Representation
The Orthodoxy
The Computational Theory of Mind
The Competition
Eliminativism and Connectionism
Other Views, Same Issues
Against Mechanistic Theories of Mind
Some Alternatives
Epilogue
by "Nielsen BookData"