The Analysis of Psychological Theory

Originally published in 1987 and reissued here with a new preface, The Analysis of Psychological Theory: Metapsychological Perspectives called attention to critical problems in psychology at the time and did so in a way that gave metapsychology a specialized identity and function.

The Introduction discusses several major themes with which metapsychological works had been concerned in the previous decade as well as future concerns. The remainder of the volume is divided into three parts. The first (The Study of Metatheory) deals with psychology’s ubiquitous scientism, its general refusal to examine metatheoretical questions, the various alternatives to current orthodoxy, and a reminder of the ultimate consumers. The second part (Studies in Metatheory) consists of chapters treating various aspects of psychology, including discussions of language, history, folklore, social factors, and philosophy. The breadth of material covered here is an indication of the scope of metapsychological inquiry. Part 3 (Metatheoretical Applications) outlines several different ways in which metapsychological inquiry can have a direct bearing on the psychology one conducts. Here authors with a wide variety of viewpoints reflect on the outcome of such inquiry within the fields of social psychology, artificial intelligence, and Soviet psychology etc. Today it can be read in its historical context.