The Philosophy of Psychology

The Philosophy of Psychology...does more than review philosophical psychology as it exists today, but also tries to move the field in new directions. The last two sections bring philosohical reflections to issues in clinical psychology. The fourth section, Clinical Psychology and Philosophy, contains two articles on philosophical concerns about psychoanalysis - a traditional area - but breaks new ground with an article questioning the soundness of the concept of rationality underpinning rational-emotive psychotherapy. The final section, Ethics and Psychology, addresses a wide range of ethical issues in psychology, including psychology's implicit values and inconsistencies between scientific psychology's belief in determinism and its insistence on informed consent in therapy and experimentation. Of special interest to teachers of psychological practitioners will be two articles about the APA's code of ethics, one of which finds it seriously wanting, whereas the other finds it a good, if flawed, attempts to define professional "goodness".

The Philosophy of Psychology is a good introduction to the field it surveys. Almost all the articles can be read by someone unfamiliar with the topics discussed, and varying points of view are well represented. It might well serve as an auxilliary text in graduate-level courses in history and systems of psychology, whereas specific chapters might be assigned to courses in ethics, cognitive science, or philosophy of mind' - Contemporary Psychology

`The very wide-ranging nature of this book means that it should not only be of interest to those on courses devoted to the philosophy of psychology, but should also be relevant to courses on ethics, cognitive science and clinical psychology, at the least. One measure of a book's usefulness should be whether it has affected one's teaching. It certainly passes that test. I recommended it to my students' - Psychology Teaching Review