| The Immeasurable Mind: The Real Science of Psychology Contributor(s): Uttal, William R. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1591025257 ISBN-13: 9781591025252 Publisher: Prometheus Books OUR PRICE: $26.99 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2007 Annotation: By comparing his discipline to other sciences, William Uttal identifies its limits, establishes a set of principles that help to define psychology as a science, and suggests plausible future developments. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Psychology | Statistics |
| Dewey: 150.1 |
| LCCN: 2007007859 |
| Physical Information: 0.85" H x 6.34" W x 9.24" (1.18 lbs) 289 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Is psychology a science? Unlike Darwinian theory in biology or relativity and quantum theory in physics, psychology lacks the basic quantitative or conceptual foundation for a consensus view about how the mind works. Is psychology on the verge of developing such a foundation? "Probably not," answers psychologist William R. Uttal in this iconoclastic and critical examination of psychology's underlying principles, assumptions, and concepts. In five in-depth chapters and one appendix, he explores the following key issues: *What do we mean by "science" and can psychology be legitimately described as a science? *What are the general principles that should be applied to any science? *What is the role of mathematics in psychology? *Given the current fragmented state of the discipline, is it possible to identify the general principles of a scientific psychology? *Is experimental psychology just applied epistemology and not really scientific? Uttal comes to the conclusion that psychology is a science only to the extent that it is behaviorist in orientation. By comparing his discipline to other sciences, he identifies its limits, establishes a set of principles that help to define psychology as a science, and suggests plausible future developments. |