The
partners that cannot be divorced: Psychology and philosophy
P.A. Bertocci |
This
essay supports the dictum of Gordon Allport: "All books on the
psychology of personality are at the same time books on the philosophy
of personality." The "hidden philosophy" is here considered
at two points. First, the choice of objective method (restricting,
when not excluding the use of introspective data) did in fact lay
man on a Procrustean bed and cut off the data of conscious experience
that only persons can supply. To justify this procedure on the grounds
that publicity is "scientifically" desirable, overlooks
the fact that public observation and agreement presuppose that at
least two conscious persons report on what they see and can agree. "Publicity" does
not exclude private awareness. The erect of the first hidden philosophical
bias is especially serious when psychologists deal with value-questions
such as the definition of maturity and mental health. When psychologists
disregard introspective reports, they are likely to consider biological
survival the criterion of healthy personality. This leads to "might
(survival value) makes right"-a conclusion that in fact undermines
both impartiality in the search for truth and violates the moral
insight that might as such never make right.
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