The Cartesian assumptions of cognitive psychology give rise to an insoluable problem, the 'problem of other minds'. It is presupposed that people do not provide evidence of their intentions in the observable environment, but we seem to understand their intentions nevertheless (the ‘unobservability principle’: Krueger, 2012). The ‘problem of other minds’ is thus a kind… Continue reading On Purpose
Tag: William James
Psychology as Ideology
Much as the sociobiologists of the 1980's provided the 'neoliberal' capitalists of their era with the naturalisation of selfishness, cognitive psychology's conception of the mind makes it a suitable perspective for capitalist ideology: each person is isolated within their own head and must use a complex system of internal representations in order to mirror or… Continue reading Psychology as Ideology
Vicious Intellectualism
The computer metaphor, the idea that human behaviour, and more specifically the brain, can be usefully thought of as a computer, has hung around psychology's neck for 50 years or more. A post at Aeon by Roger Epstein takes the metaphor to task, and I'd recommend it, though it's some are finding it harder to… Continue reading Vicious Intellectualism
Society In Mind 