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,…
Category: Theoretical Psychology
Disquiet
The following excerpts are from the article, “Disquieting experiences and conversation,” by Lívia Mathias Simão (2020), published in Theory & Psychology. Disquieting experiences, according to Simão, are inseparable from human life, to the extent that we strive to know ourselves, others, and our shared realities. We are continually acting based on what we believe and…
Jeff Sugarman on Psychologism
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…
Systems & Theories Class (Fall 2019)
What was unique about this semester: We discussed Brian Haig’s (2014) Investigating the Psychological World. A few students got involved with the book, but I think most students focused only on the chapter they were responsible for. I kept returning to the question, Why did Haig write this book? (especially given that psychological researchers don’t…
On Arguments (Part 1)
For the past three and a half years, I have been trying ways of teaching my students about argumentative writing. How should we distinguish an argument from a non-argument? Why is it useful to practice writing arguments? Sometimes students challenge me: “What you consider to be an argument isn’t the only possible form of argument.”…