Contemporary mainstream psychology has moved toward
methodological specificity bounded by instrumental experimentalism.
However, this institutional reduction of sanctioned methods has not
been fully embraced by all social scientists, nor even by all
experimental psychologists. The social sciences are rife with
examples of practicing empirical scientists disaffected with the
reductionism and atomism of traditional experimentalism.
The empirical theory and practice of four of these disaffected
social scientists--Lev Vygotsky, James Baldwin, James Gibson, and
Kurt Lewin--is explored in this volume. Each of the scientists
considered here argued for a rigorously empirical method while
still maintaining a clear anti-reductionist stance. They justified
their disaffection with the dominant psychological paradigms of
their respective eras in terms of a fidelity to their phenomena of
study, a fidelity they believed would be compromised by radical
reductionism and ontological atomism.
The authors in this collection explore the theory and practice
of these eminent researchers and from it find inspiration for
contemporary social science. The primary argument running through
these analyses is that the social sciences should take seriously
the notion of holistic empirical investigation. This means, among
other things, re-establishing the indissoluble ties between theory,
method and procedure and resisting the manualization of research
procedures. It also means developing theories of relations and not
simply of elemental properties. Such theories would concern
particular units, fields, or systems of relations and not be
reduced to, or interpreted in the terms of, other systems. Finally,
a holistic social science requires integration of the active agent
into theory, method, and procedure, an integration that points
toward both participatory and emancipatory methods.
General
Imprint: |
AldineTransaction
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
2009 |
First published: |
October 2008 |
Authors: |
Joshua W. Clegg
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
190 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4128-0838-5 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Psychology >
General
|
LSN: |
1-4128-0838-3 |
Barcode: |
9781412808385 |
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