philosophical psychology

Interview with Prof. Barbara Held

By Davood Gozli | 17/08/202309/11/2023 by Davood Gozli

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Prof. Barbara Held, a distinguished clinical and philosophical psychologist. Her lifelong emphasis on critical and clear thinking was profoundly palpable and personal. It showcased not only her academic rigor but also her deep personal commitment to truth. While I encourage you to listen to the interview yourself, here are some of the main topics we covered together: Beyond Postmodernism: Prof. Held challenges postmodernism in psychotherapy, emphasizing the…

Phenomenological Psychology philosophical psychology

From Psychology to Philosophy

By Davood Gozli | 22/12/202122/12/2021 by Davood Gozli

When I was in academia, I sometimes thought I was misplaced in a Psychology department, and that I should be in Philosophy. I thought I could be more effective, more in peace, in a Philosophy department, working with and alongside philosophers. I thought philosophers would have broader and deeper concerns, compared to the narrow-mindedness and irrelevance of most psychologists. Then I discovered that the other side has similar problems. I discovered the problem wasn’t about…

Descriptive Psychology Education interview Phenomenological Psychology Phenomenology philosophical psychology

Interview with Marc Applebaum

By Davood Gozli | 01/07/2021 by Davood Gozli

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Marc Applebaum. We talked about his experience and education in psychological research and about how his interest was first developed in phenomenology. We also talk about phenomenological attitude, the importance of empathy with the experience of another human being, the connection between knowing someone and the style of relating to them, and how the phenomenological attitude differs from the attitude encouraged by natural scientific psychology. I hope…

critical psychology history of psychology philosophical psychology philosophy of science Theoretical Psychology

Jeff Sugarman on Psychologism

By Davood Gozli | 22/02/202022/02/2020 by Davood Gozli

In his Chapter, An Historical Turn in Theoretical & Philosophical Psychology, Jeff Sugarman (2019) begins by distinguishing three different approach to historiography (borrowing from Nikolas Rose). Among the three approaches, he introduces and adopts ‘critical history’. One of the aims of critical history is to explicate styles of reasoning that are operating in the background of scientific activities. Styles of reasoning (Alistair C. Crombie; Ian Hacking) provide conditions of possibility for research questions, methods, and…

philosophical psychology philosophy of science Writing

Re: Brad Jesness’s Review

By Davood Gozli | 12/10/201912/10/2019 by Davood Gozli

Here is a link to Brad Jesness’s review of my book, which I read with interest. The review is posted on ResearchGate as a “comment”, and I decided to respond to it here for the sake of convenience. Brad (and others) could continue the thread either here or on RG. I wasn’t expecting much of a reaction to my book, so I am grateful to have received Brad’s thoughts. He is very generous in his…