Open invitations.

Abstract

Psychological scientists frequently acknowledge the dynamic complexities of psychological experiences, yet few attend to them, favoring instead the reductionism of laboratory experiments. Phil Cushman is one of the exceptions to this rhetorical routine, dedicating his life work to exploring that dynamic complexity. Using hermeneutic methods that are enhanced by historical evidence and psychoanalytic acumen, Phil generated novel understandings of the self in the 20th and 21st century. These understandings, the multifaceted methods and observer stance used to uncover them, can serve as open invitations for scholars in the theory, philosophy, and history of psychology.