American psychology, 1800-1885.

A personal sojourn to spiritualize community psychology

“…Religion, science, and philosophical psychology had been co-constructed disciplines in the 19th century, being American offshoots of the Scottish system known as common sense realism (Spilka, 1987). Inductive science was believed to demonstrate the hand of God at work in the world (Davis, 1936). Subsequent psychologists in thrall to materialist science reduced religious concerns and spirituality to brain activity within a completely objectified, knowable universe.…”

A quiet voice: Roland Clark Davis and the emergence of psychophysiology

“…This “thoroughness and meticulous attention to detail” became a Davis trademark (Estes, ) and remained evident over the years. Early in his career, tapping the scholar, the poet, and the scientist, he wrote a detailed historical review of American psychology between the years 1800 and 1885, a period during which the field emerged from the study of religion and philosophy (Davis, ). Two decades later, he similarly reviewed the history of physiological psychology in the first half of the 20th century (Davis, ).…”

Criminal justice and the nineteenth-century paradigm: The triumph of psychological individualism in the "formative era."

“…Psychology during this period was regarded as a distinct branch of philosophy concerned with the study of mind and it was heavily influenced by Christianity. Psychology texts devoted large sections to direct discussions of religion (Curti, 1953;Davis, 1936). Thomas Upham (1827), whose "[s]ole aim was the good of young men," wrote the most widely used text in which he "proved" the existence of free will and people' s ability to choose good over evil.…”

“…Thomas Upham (1827), whose "[s]ole aim was the good of young men," wrote the most widely used text in which he "proved" the existence of free will and people' s ability to choose good over evil. His theories were representative of a period whose academic psychology Davis (1936) has described this way: "Repeated again and again one finds the doctrines of mind as an active entity, of the faculties as modes of activity, of the intuitions of the mind and of the freedom of the will" (p. 480).…”