The selections in this book, preceded by short biographical sketches, document this philosophic search.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book is a general introduction to the philosophy of John Locke, one of the most influential thinkers in modern times. Nicholas Jolley aims to show the fundamental unity of Locke's thought in his masterpiece, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In this work Locke advances a coherent theory of knowledge; as against Descartes he argues that knowledge is possible to the extent that it concerns essences which are constructions of the human mind.

Experimental psychology in the early 20th century was targeted by several authors who described a crisis— often expressed as a lack of theoretical and experimental progress. In the 21st century, the crisis of competing theories has been largely overcome but several current emphases hinder the development of a mature experimental science. Central among these are an ethnocentrism that focuses on Western standards and populations, neuroscientism which often treats neurological evidence independently of mental and behavioral events, and the tendency for demonstration (...) experiments to replace coordinated theoretical approaches. (shrink)

In response to Mandler , I argue in this comment that a more unified psychology generally, and a more unified experimental, scientific psychology specifically, are more difficult to obtain than he suggests. Furthermore, I contend that Mandler does not sufficiently maintain a clear distinction between disciplinary psychology generally, and experimental, scientific psychology, specifically in his discussions of broaching greater unity. This distinction is particularly important, as how it is treated has serious implications for the many specializations and schools of thought (...) within disciplinary psychology that do not fall under the umbrella of experimental, scientific psychology—and, at minimum, these other areas of psychology constitute a large minority of disciplinary psychology. As a specific example, I argue that Mandler's treatment of psychodynamic/psychoanalytic perspectives belies an experimental, scientific psychology bias, which does not do justice to these important perspectives on their own terms. I also highlight some important theoretical divisions that Mandler overlooks. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

This article is an invited comment on the article by George Mandler in the same issue. It is suggested that the latter contains a series of myths that are popular among psychologists. These are that psychology was fragmented into “schools” in the 1920s and 30s and that this led several writers to declare that it was in a state of crisis. It is said to have overcome this crisis by becoming more eclectic and incorporating the best aspects of the various (...) schools. The author suggests that the reality is very different; there is no evidence to suggest that modern psychology has incorporated different aspects of the various schools. It is just as fragmented as it was in the early part of the 20th century, and the crisis literature has continued to the present day. It is suggested that the myths serve the quasi-religious function of keeping faith in the progress of psychology toward “mature science” alive. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)