Current Systems in Psychology

Abstract

This book is about systems in psychology. A system generally consistsof theoretical propositions and their methodologies. Most systems ofpsychology, the author contends, have a theoretical orientation, but somedo not have coherence and unity. As far as methodology is concerned, somesystems use an eclectic approach, while others use a limited set of methodsin their inquiry into human behavior and mental processes. The authordefines a system as "an orderly and logical construction for dealing withdata and theories of the subject in a unified and coherent manner; it usesa set of postulates (even if implicitly) and usually a single methodology"(p. 4). The book consists of eight parts with 14 chapters. Altogether, ten major and six additional systems are described in various chapters thatare packed with not only historical perspectives but a thorough and criticalanalysis as well. Additionally, an evaluative summary of each system, itscontributions to psychology and relationship with other systems, is alsogiven.Part I covers an introduction to the systems, the historical backgroundand the logic of science. After the introductory chapter, which is anoverview of the whole book, chapter 2 presents a sketch of the olderconcepts in psychology, starting from the time of hunter-gatherers andherders to Hellenic Greeks. Together with the early and non-westerncivilizations (e.g., Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian), thischapter covers aspects of the Naturalistic Psychology of Socrates, Plato,and Aristotle. The author examines the origin of mind-body dualism duringthese stages of developments. It is pointed out that in the western world, themind-body phenomenon first appeared in the first or second century BC inAlexandria when the study of nature was abandoned. Aristotle emphasizedthe interaction of organism and environment, rather than internal factors, asde- g forces for the individual. The term "psyche" was coined afterthis period, when the intellectuals and the Christian theologians turnedinward, looking for explanations of human behavior, and this conventiondominated throughout the middle ages. Although natural sciences freedthemselves from theology, psychology remained bound to it until it got theattention of philosophy. The author says that the classical systems inpsychology until early 1960s were primarily reactions to these age-oldquestions. He also briefly explains the concept of the "Logic of Science"while describing terms like mental constructs, its typtypes, criteria, the mindbodydualism, and reductionism ...