Psychologies of Mind: The Collected Papers of John Maze

Description

John Maze was a giant among philosophers of psychology. This exciting, new collection of his published work demonstrates that what is seemingly new in psychology is so often not new at all but frequently consists of ill-informed corruptions of earlier, discarded, misguided attempts. Their collection together is timely in the current, innovatory era of cross-disciplinary exploration and integration on the borderlands of psychology and philosophy, where there is a visible danger that the welcome loosening of barriers to mutual communication also generates some 'wild' theorizing, familiar enough in the history of psychology itself. A corpus remarkable for its coherence, intellectual virtuosity and radicalism over 50 years, it speaks meaningfully to the wide range of psychological theory throughout its history up to the present day. Written with elegance and eloquence, the essays entail a thoroughgoing critical analysis of the most detrimental philosophical erroers of academic psychology in the 20th century, the relegation to history by the 20th century academy of some of the conceptually most promising lines of research, the cost that has been borne by the discipline of psychology, and the most promising future direction for the discipline.

Rachael Henry is an object relations child psychotherapist in private practice in Australia. She is also Director of the Institute of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Sydney, Australia.

'John Maze's writings demonstrate an astounding breadth of interest and depth of analysis that covers over 50 years of psychology's recent development. A gifted and sensitive observer of the discipline, he brooked no fuzzy theorizing and tolerated neither pompous scientism nor faddish relativism. At home in psychoanalytic formulations as well as the scientific heartland of psychology, his analysis stands the test of time and remains an important guidepost to the discipline that psychology might yet be.' Henderikus J. Stam, Editor, Theory & Psychology -- Henderikus J. Stam Born out of a time when psychology undergraduates actually read Freud, when philosophy and psychology departments regularly held joint seminars and theoretical work on the foundations of psychology was a valued academic activity, reading Maze's collected works could make one very nostalgic. In a comprehensive and sustained investigation that traverses behaviourism and psychoanalysis, through the so called 'cognitive revolution' to the post-structuralism of Derrida, Maze restores the rigour of philosophical analysis to the often unquestioned foundations of the major psychologies of the 20th century. This meticulously edited collection of papers ought to be required reading for a new generation of psychologists, psychoanalysts and philosophers. If the future of psychology is not to repeat the logical impasses and fruitless debates of its fragmented past, Maze's work is essential. Andrew J. Lewis, Deakin University, Australia -- Professor Andrew J. Lewis