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Human Studies
Published in: Human Studies 4/2013

01-12-2013 | Theoretical / Philosophical Paper

Critical Psychology, Philosophy, and Social Therapy

Author: Lois Holzman

Published in: Human Studies | Issue 4/2013

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Abstract

This article presents critical psychology in some new light. First, it presents the history of US critical psychology in terms of the overall foundation of its critique (identity-based, ideologically-based, and epistemologically-based). Second, it broadens the population that can be called critical psychologists. The argument is made to include: (1) philosophers of language, science, and mind critical of psychology’s foundational assumptions, conceptions, and methods of inquiry; and (2) non-professional, ordinary people who live their lives critical of psychology by eschewing mainstream approaches and taking alternative routes to getting help with their emotional and physical pain, or the education of their children. Third, the article discusses ontology-based critique through the example of the practical-critical theory/practice of social therapy.
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Footnotes
1
Among the histories of American psychology and its European roots, those by Danziger (1990, 1997) are especially recommended. See also Gergen (1994a), Graumann and Gergen (1996), Newman and Holzman (2006/1996), and Robinson (1995).
 
2
In addition to the Lock and Strong volume, the following are excellent sources for the history and ongoing developments within postmodern approaches in psychology: Gergen (1994b, 1999, 2001), Kvale (1992), McNamee and Gergen (1999), and Shotter (1993a, b). There is also a growing literature on postmodern therapies, which are non-diagnostic approaches that focus on the collaborative nature of the conversation and relationship between therapist and client(s). In addition to social therapy (a focus of the present article), social constructionist, narrative and collaborative therapies are the most well known. Theoretical discussion and practical examples of these approaches can be found in the following: Anderson and Gehart (2007), Gergen (2006), McNamee and Gergen (1992), Paré and Larner (2004), Monk et al. (1997), Strong and Paré (2004), and White (2006).
 
3
Wittgenstein has fascinated and inspired many outside the field of philosophy (not only scholars in diverse fields, but also poets, musicians, and dramatists, see Monk 1990). Yet, despite there being two volumes of Wittgenstein’s work entitled Remarks on the Philosophy of Psychology, psychologists have been rather late in coming to see the value in studying his work. Shotter (1990, 1993a, b) and Newman and Holzman (1993, 2006/1996, 1997) are exceptions, having been writing on how Wittgenstein’s unique ways of seeing human action, thought, and language contribute to social constructionist and postmodern psychology for the past 20 years,. Among the most recent contributions to the discussion are Harré and Tissaw’s Wittgenstein and Psychology: A Practical Guide (2005), and the journal New Ideas in Psychology, which devoted an entire issue to Wittgenstein’s contemporary relevance (Racine and Müller 2008).
 
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Metadata
Title
Critical Psychology, Philosophy, and Social Therapy
Author
Lois Holzman
Publication date
01-12-2013
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Human Studies / Issue 4/2013
Print ISSN: 0163-8548
Electronic ISSN: 1572-851X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-013-9293-x

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