Cargando…
The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework
The search for a so-called unified or integrated theory has long served as a goal for some psychologists, even if the search is often implicit. But if the established sciences do not have an explicitly unified set of theories, then why should psychology? After examining this question again I argue t...
Autor principal: | |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2015
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595780/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26500571 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01467 |
_version_ | 1782393667640623104 |
---|---|
author | Stam, Henderikus J. |
author_facet | Stam, Henderikus J. |
author_sort | Stam, Henderikus J. |
collection | PubMed |
description | The search for a so-called unified or integrated theory has long served as a goal for some psychologists, even if the search is often implicit. But if the established sciences do not have an explicitly unified set of theories, then why should psychology? After examining this question again I argue that psychology is in fact reasonably unified around its methods and its commitment to functional explanations, an indeterminate functionalism. The question of the place of the neurosciences in this framework is complex. On the one hand, the neuroscientific project will not likely renew and synthesize the disparate arms of psychology. On the other hand, their reformulation of what it means to be human will exert an influence in multiple ways. One way to capture that influence is to conceptualize the brain in terms of a technology that we interact with in a manner that we do not yet fully understand. In this way we maintain both a distance from neuro-reductionism and refrain from committing to an unfettered subjectivity. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4595780 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2015 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-45957802015-10-23 The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework Stam, Henderikus J. Front Psychol Psychology The search for a so-called unified or integrated theory has long served as a goal for some psychologists, even if the search is often implicit. But if the established sciences do not have an explicitly unified set of theories, then why should psychology? After examining this question again I argue that psychology is in fact reasonably unified around its methods and its commitment to functional explanations, an indeterminate functionalism. The question of the place of the neurosciences in this framework is complex. On the one hand, the neuroscientific project will not likely renew and synthesize the disparate arms of psychology. On the other hand, their reformulation of what it means to be human will exert an influence in multiple ways. One way to capture that influence is to conceptualize the brain in terms of a technology that we interact with in a manner that we do not yet fully understand. In this way we maintain both a distance from neuro-reductionism and refrain from committing to an unfettered subjectivity. Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-10-07 /pmc/articles/PMC4595780/ /pubmed/26500571 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01467 Text en Copyright © 2015 Stam. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Psychology Stam, Henderikus J. The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework |
title | The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework |
title_full | The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework |
title_fullStr | The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework |
title_full_unstemmed | The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework |
title_short | The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework |
title_sort | neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework |
topic | Psychology |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595780/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26500571 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01467 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT stamhenderikusj theneurosciencesandthesearchforaunifiedpsychologythescienceandestheticsofasingleframework AT stamhenderikusj neurosciencesandthesearchforaunifiedpsychologythescienceandestheticsofasingleframework |