Sigmund Koch—philosophically speaking.

Robinson, Daniel N.

doi:10.1037/0003-066x.56.5.420

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Despite this, we seem little better off than 50 plus years ago when Sigmund Koch “described psychology as singular among scholarly and scientific pursuits in having decided on a set of methods before it defined its proper subject matter” (Robinson, 2001, p. 421). At the outset of this article, I presented a sketch of a hypothetical biology teacher who relates to her class on the first day that she cannot define or otherwise formulate the nature of the subject matter of her course.…”

Section: Why Should We Care About the Concept Of “Person”?mentioning

confidence: 99%

What is a person? What is the self? Formulations for a science of psychology.

Bergner¹

2017

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology

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This article offers solutions to two historically unresolved subject matter problems in psychology: (a) What is a "person"? And, (b) what is the "self"? Part 1 of the article presents Peter Ossorio's (2006) Descriptive Psychologically based answer to the first of these questions, an answer that comprises a paradigm case formulation of the concept "person" itself, as well as a parametric analysis for describing individual persons. Part 2 of the article presents a new solution to the second question. The solution is a disarmingly simple one in which "self" or "I," consistent with actual usage, means simply and essentially "this person"-this holistically considered, embodied, conscious, deliberate actor that I intend when I use the terms "I" or "me" or "myself"-as opposed to "that person," the specific individual I intend when I say "he" or "she" or "herself." The ways in which this formulation (a) uniquely possesses an empirical grounding, (b) avoids many historical problems that have arisen in trying to delineate the nature of the self, and (c) integrates the field of self psychology, are all demonstrated. The article provides logical and empirical arguments in support of both of its formulations, as well as for the importance of the science of psychology possessing such formulations of its core subject matter.

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Section: Why Should We Care About the Concept Of “Person”?mentioning

confidence: 99%

What is a person? What is the self? Formulations for a science of psychology.

Bergner¹

2017

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology

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“…It is well known that Sigmund Koch described psychology as unique among the sciences in having decided on its methods before defining its subject matter (see Robinson, 2001). Indeed, psychology has developed sophisticated methods, quantitative as well as qualitative, that purport to give us tools to investigate the human being as a psychological being.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Topography of Moral Ecology

Brinkmann

2004

Theory & Psychology

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The idea that the human world contains moral properties, that is, moral values and goods, raises a fundamental challenge to the prevailing methodological paradigm in psychology, which is connected to a problematic metaphysical worldview that excludes values from the world. In contrast, this article conceptualizes the human world as a moral ecology; as a meaningful world with moral properties that present human beings with moral reasons for action. The concept of social practice is employed to understand the nature of moral ecology. Thinkers such as Aristotle, Heidegger and Dewey, who emphasize our practical dealings with the world as the basis of understanding, along with the perspectives on morality found in Charles Taylor and Alasdair MacIntyre, help provide the framework of moral ecology. The article concludes by addressing key problems related to the nature of psychology, relativism and identification of moral properties and practices.

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“…Daniel N. Robinson (2001, this issue) discusses Koch's early engagement with positivism and his later absolute rejection of its tenets and implications. In the course of his article, Robinson points to resonance between the qualities of Koch's scholarship and that of another American philosopher–psychologist, William James.…”

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confidence: 99%