The Development of Human Change

Abstract

The Development of Human Change Human Change Processes: The Scientific Foundations of Psychotherapy Michael J. Mahoney. New York: Basic Books, 1991. (590 pp.) $45. In the Preface, Michael Mahoney notes that this volume is the result of ten years of research and writing on human psychological change. He has drawn broadly and extensively from the literatures of the social, biological and physical sciences, as well as philosophy, in providing an integrated view of how humans' understanding of ourselves and our world has developed throughout history. The depth with which Mahoney immersed himself in varied literatures in order to present a conceptualization of human change and knowing processes is evident in his detailed citations of works in each field, the frequent use of footnotes to elaborate points and provide additional sources that the interested reader may consult, the set of technical appendices (covering topics such as attention and perception, psychobiology, and human evolution), and the 120 pages of references. The result of this massive scholarly effort is a dense and often technical text that might put off some readers but contains a wealth of stimulating ideas highly relevant for practitioners and researchers interested in the complex processes involved in human change. This is a challenging book, in terms of both the complexity of the material presented and Mahoney's questioning of some basic assumptions underlying major models of psychotherapy, including the cognitive psychotherapies. The book is divided into three sections. Section I, "Conceptual Introduction and Historical Contexts," begins with a chapter emphasizing how the principles of psychological change in psychotherapy are essentially the same as those involved in human change in the world at large; that issues of individual suffering and security are intimately tied to parallel issues in the survival and development of societies. Throughout the book, Mahoney illustrates the powerful forces providing continuity and stability in both individual lives and broader cultures, but he also stresses the capacity for change at both the personal and societal level. He emphasizes that recent trends toward a focus on change at the individual intrapsychic level of "self need not be incompatible with a sense of social responsibility. Chapter 1 concludes with a brief consideration of three basic questions about human change, each of which the author initially answers in the affirmative and then addresses in depth in subsequent chapters: "Can humans change? Can humans help humans change? Are some forms of help better than others?" Chapter 2, "A Brief History of Ideas," is an overview of human conceptualizations about the world and how people know themselves and the world around them. A basic premise of this book is that an individual's personal life experiences are the result of a synergistic relationship between events and the active processes through which the person comes to know about those events. In this view, what and how one notices aspects of the world depends to a great extent on one's tacit personal assumptions and theories about the natures of the self and world. Consistent with the concept of personal realities, Mahoney traces the roots of modern sciences in philosophy, presenting a brief history of Western philosophy, including major theories and debates about reality, truth and epistemology (e.g., the problem of mind-body dualism). He notes three axial periods in which fundamental shifts occurred in the ways that humans conceptualized their worlds. The first axial period (sixth century B.C.) involved a transformation of earlier mystical and supernatural concepts used to explain the nature of the world into organized religions and rational philosophy (a turning inward). The second axial period, during the Renaissance, was characterized by a turning outward toward naturalistic observation, including the development of astronomy and studies of the human body. …