This article discusses the meaning of epistemological violence in the empirical social sciences. It is argued that the concept is closer to personal than to structural violence in that it has a subject, an object, and an action, even if the violence is indirect and nonphysical: the subject of violence is the researcher, the object is the Other, and the action is the interpretation of data that is presented as knowledge. Using a hypothetical example, the problem of interpretation in empirical research on the Other is discussed. Epistemological violence refers to the interpretation of social‐scientific data on the Other and is produced when empirical data are interpreted as showing the inferiority of or problematizes the Other, even when data allow for equally viable alternative interpretations. Interpretations of inferiority or problematizations are understood as actions that have a negative impact on the Other. Because the interpretations of data emerge from an academic context and thus are presented as knowledge, they are defined as epistemologically violent actions. Problems, consequences, and practices surrounding this concept are discussed.

Critical psychology has become a generative and international movement in the last 5 decades, with self-identifying critical psychologists emerging from around the globe with publications and contributions, both theoretical and practical, in many areas of psychology. This article provides an overview of current trends in critical psychology and elucidates historical sources and theoretical tenets. Presented are the relationship between individual subjectivity and society, the role of power in the discipline, the problem of subjectification, the importance of reflexivity and intersubjectivity in the context of research practices, methodologies of change for different contexts, and the ethical-political positions from which critical psychologists operate. Challenges to critical psychology, which include engagements with indigenous psychologies, new forms of internationalization, and advancing transdisciplinary work, are discussed.

Based on a Neo-Sprangerian approach to forms of life in Western cultures, and drawing on humanities-based ideas about personality, a critical-hermeneutic description of a neoliberal form of life and its corresponding form of subjectivity is presented. In the neoliberal form of subjectivity, the self becomes central, but in a way that the distinction between an ego and the self is no longer relevant. Neoliberal thinking is reduced to utilitarian, calculating thinking in all domains of life from work, to interaction, and to identity. Feeling is considered to be more relevant than thinking and is used to manage stress while aiming for happiness, which is core to this subjectivity. It is argued that agency is reduced to self-and family-interests while consequences for the conduct of life are presented. Concepts such as new nihilism, reduction of individuality, and (im)possibility of resistance in neoliberalism are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Based on historical and theoretical reflections it is argued that speculation cannot be eradicated from psychology and that it is a necessary part of empirical research, specifically when it concerns the interpretation of data. The quality of those interpretative speculations of data is particularly relevant when they concern human groups and differences between them. The term epistemological violence (EV) is introduced in order to identify interpretations that construct the 'Other' as problematic or inferior, with implicit or explicit negative consequences for the 'Other,' even when empirical results allow for meaningful, equally compelling, alternative interpretations. These interpretations of data are presented as 'knowledge' when, in fact, harm is inflicted through them. Examples of EV in the context of 'race' are briefly discussed. The concept of EV also demonstrates that the traditional separation of 'is' and 'ought' is problematic. Reflections on epistemologicalethical issues are provided.KEY WORDS: epistemological violence, epistemology, ethics, hermeneutics, interpretation, speculation, underdetermination A hermeneutics of empirical psychology, as articulated in this essay, attempts to understand manifest and latent practices of psychology in general and the role of interpretation in empirical psychology in particular. The reconstructions and arguments in the following analyses provide an interpretation of problems of speculation and interpretation in empirical psychology. A hermeneutics turns critical if it is accompanied by a stance that does not take the self-understanding of mainstream psychology for granted and tries to disclose epistemological and ethical shortcomings of the status quo. In this article, I will argue that (a) speculation is a specter that has escorted psychology throughout its history; (b) psychologists have been aware of the problem of THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY

The development of psychology as a science and the struggle for scientific recognition has disrupted the need to interrogate the discipline and the profession from the perspective of the humanities, the arts, and the concept-driven social sciences. This article suggests that some of the humanities contribute significantly to an understanding of human subjectivity, arguably a core topic within psychology. The article outlines the relevance of the psychological humanities by reclaiming subjectivity as a core topic for general psychology that is grounded in theoretical reconstruction, integration, and advancement. The argument relies on a variety of disciplines to achieve a deeper understanding of subjectivity: Philosophy provides conceptual clarifications and guidelines for integrating research on subjectivity; history reconstructs the movement of subjectivity and its subdivisions; political and social theories debate the process of subjectification; indigenous, cultural, and postcolonial studies show that Western theories of subjectivity cannot be applied habitually to contexts outside of the center; the arts corroborate the idea that subjective imagination is core to the aesthetic project; and science and technology studies point to recent developments in genetic science and information technology, advances that necessitate the consideration of significant changes in subjectivity. The implications of the psychological humanities as an important, justifiable tradition in psychology and for a general theory of subjectivity are discussed.

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After identifying the discipline of psychology's history of contributing pioneers and leaders to the field of race research, epistemological problems in empirical psychology are identified including an adherence to a naïve empiricist philosophy of science. The reconstruction focuses on the underdetermined relationship between data and interpretation. It is argued that empirical psychology works under a hermeneutic deficit and that this deficit leads to the advancement of interpretations regarding racialized groups that are detrimental to those groups. Because these interpretations are understood as actions that bring harm to certain racialized groups, and because these actions are made in the name of science and knowledge, the term epistemological violence is applied. Reflections regarding the meanings and consequences of this term in empirical psychology and the human sciences are presented.

After suggesting that all psychologies contain indigenous qualities and discussing differences and commonalities between German and North American historiographies of psychology, an indigenous reconstruction of German critical psychology is applied. It is argued that German critical psychology can be understood as a backlash against American psychology, as a response to the Americanization of German psychology after WWII, on the background of the history of German psychology, the academic impact of the Cold War, and the trajectory of personal biographies and institutions. Using an intellectual-historical perspective, it is shown how and which indigenous dimensions played a role in the development of German critical psychology as well as the limitations to such an historical approach. Expanding from German critical psychology, the role of the critique of American psychology in various contexts around the globe is discussed in order to emphasize the relevance of indigenous historical research.