Overview

This insightful book offers contemporary psychologists and other social theorists an understanding of the comprehensive system of thought developed by the German scholar William Stern (1871–1938) known as critical personalism. Expanding the author’s ongoing efforts in this area, the book considers, firstly, how critical personalism could ground a needed revival of psychological science, a need created by the field's gradual transformation, through its widespread adoption of aggregate statistical methods of investigation, into a discipline better characterized as 'psycho-demography.' Consistent with Stern's own view of the potential of critical personalism vis-a-vis socio-ethical concerns, the book then explores how the framework could facilitate a transcendence of thinking about racial and other social relationships beyond currently prevailing narratives about personkinds into narratives that are actually about persons. This part of the book includes a chapter discussing Stern's own historical efforts in this direction, serving to highlight the non-individualistic nature of critically personalistic thinking. Throughout, Lamiell constructs a clear case for the merits and applicability of critical personalism in modern psychology and social thought. Primer in Critical Personalism will interest established psychological scientists and advanced students in the field, as well as those who are concerned about our contemporary socio-cultural ethos and the prospects for its improvement, including philosophers, sociologists, educators, journalists, clerics, and thoughtful laypersons alike.

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9781032450551

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Reviews

"""Required reading for every psychologist. With the help of William Stern’s critical personalism, James Lamiell clearly explains the devasting methodological error at the heart of contemporary psychology and the way out of the quagmire in order to better understand persons and pressing social problems."" Brian Schiff, Esmond Nissim Professor of Psychology at The American University of Paris, France"

“Required reading for every psychologist. With the help of William Stern’s critical personalism, James Lamiell clearly explains the devasting methodological error at the heart of contemporary psychology and the way out of the quagmire in order to better understand persons and pressing social problems.” Brian Schiff, Esmond Nissim Professor of Psychology at The American University of Paris, France.

Author Information

James T. Lamiell is a Professor Emeritus in the Psychology Department at Georgetown University, USA. His scholarly interests are in the history and philosophy of psychology, the psychology of subjective personality judgments, and methodological issues pertaining to psychological research.

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