What does morality have to do with psychology in a value-neutral,
postmodern world? According to a provocative new book, everything.
Taking exception with current ideas in the mainstream (including
cultural, evolutionary, and neuropsychology) as straying from the
discipline's ethical foundations, Psychology as a Moral Science argues
that psychological phenomena are inherently moral, and that psychology,
as prescriptive and interventive practice, reflects specific moral
principles.
The book cites normative moral standards, as far back as Aristotle, that
give human thoughts, feelings, and actions meaning, and posits
psychology as one of the critical methods of organizing normative values
in society; at the same time it carefully notes the discipline's history
of being sidetracked by overemphasis on theoretical constructs and
physical causes--what the author terms "the psychologizing of morality."
This synthesis of ideas brings an essential unity to what can sometimes
appear as a fragmented area of inquiry at odds with itself. The book's
"interpretive-pragmatic approach"
- Revisits core psychological concepts as supporting normative value
systems.
- Traces how psychology has shaped society's view of morality.
- Confronts the "naturalistic fallacy" in contemporary psychology.
- Explains why moral science need not be separated from social science.
- Addresses challenges and critiques to the author's work from both
formalist and relativist theories of morality.
With its bold call to reason, Psychology as a Moral Science contains
enough controversial ideas to spark great interest among researchers and
scholars in psychology and the philosophy of science.
