The Philosophical Background and Scientific Legacy of E. B. Titchener's Psychology

Understanding Introspectionism
2013
ISBN: 978-3-319-00241-5
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 74 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 1474 g

Reihe: SpringerBriefs in Philosophy

This volume offers a new understanding of Titchener’s influential system of psychology popularly known as introspectionism, structuralism and as classical introspective psychology. Adopting a new perspective on introspectionism and seeking to assess the reasons behind its famous implosion, this book reopens and rewrites the chapter in the history of early scientific psychology pertaining to the nature of E. B. Titchener’s psychological system.  

Arguing against the view that Titchener’s system was undone by an overreliance on introspection, the author explains how this idea was first introduced by the early behaviorists in order to advance their own theoretical agenda. Instead, the author argues that the major philosophical flaw of introspectionism was its utter reliance on key theoretical assumptions inherited from the intellectual tradition of British associationism—assumptions that were upheld in defiance of introspection, not because of introspection.  

The book is divided into three parts. In Part I, British associationism is examined thoroughly. The author here discusses the psychology of influential empiricist philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, David Hume, David Hartley, James Mill, and John Stuart Mill. In Part II of the book, Titchener’s introspectionist system of psychology is examined and analyzed. In Part III, the author argues that Titchener’s psychology should be understood as a form of associationism and explains how analysis, not introspection, was central to introspectionism. 

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Beenfeldt, Christian

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Forschungsmethoden
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Experimentelle Psychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Theorie, Psychoanalyse
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Geschichte der Psychologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PART I. Intellectual Background.- Chapter 1. Early British Associationism.- Chapter 2. Mature British Associationism.- PART II. The System of Introspectionism.- Chapter 3: Wundt and Titchener.- Chapter 4. Titchener’s System of Psychology.- PART III. The Preeminence of Analysis, Not Introspection.- Chapter 5. The Decline and Fall of Introspectionism.- Chapter 6: The Imageless Thought Controversy.- Chapter 7. Psychological Analysis—Not Introspection Simpliciter.

Über Autor(innen)

Dr. Christian Beenfeldt is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. He holds a DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy) degree in Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Dr. Beenfeldt is the author of numerous research articles. He has previously written about topics in the philosophy of mind, the history of philosophy, and the history of psychology. In addition to his published work, Dr. Beenfeldt has delivered lectures and presentations on intropectionism at numerous academic conferences and events. Author’s website: http://www.beenfeldt.org