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An Argument for Mind
In this elegantly written book, Jerome Kagan melds the history of the field of psychology during the past 50 years with the story of his own research efforts of the same period and an analysis of what he terms “the currently rocky romance between psychology and biology.” As Kagan unwinds his own history, he reveals the seminal events that have shaped his career and discusses how his assumptions have changed. With full appreciation for the contributions to psychology of history, philosophy, literature, and neuroscience, he approaches a wide range of fascinating topics, including:
· the abandonment of orthodox forms of behaviorism and psychoanalysis
· the forces that inspired later-twentieth-century curiosity about young children
· why B. F. Skinner chose to study psychology
· why the study of science less often ignites imaginations today
· our society’s obsession with erotic love
· the resurgence of religious fanaticism and the religious Right
Embedded in Kagan’s discussions is a rejection of the current notion that a mature neuroscience will eventually replace psychology. He argues that a complete understanding of brain is not synonymous with a full explanation of mind, and he concludes with a brief prediction of the next five decades in the field of psychology.
· the abandonment of orthodox forms of behaviorism and psychoanalysis
· the forces that inspired later-twentieth-century curiosity about young children
· why B. F. Skinner chose to study psychology
· why the study of science less often ignites imaginations today
· our society’s obsession with erotic love
· the resurgence of religious fanaticism and the religious Right
Embedded in Kagan’s discussions is a rejection of the current notion that a mature neuroscience will eventually replace psychology. He argues that a complete understanding of brain is not synonymous with a full explanation of mind, and he concludes with a brief prediction of the next five decades in the field of psychology.
- GenresPsychologyScience
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Jerome Kagan
84 books85 followersJerome Kagan was an American psychologist, who was the Daniel and Amy Starch Research Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, as well as, co-faculty at the New England Complex Systems Institute. He was one of the key pioneers of developmental psychology.
Kagan has shown that an infant's "temperament" is quite stable over time, in that certain behaviors in infancy are predictive of certain other behavior patterns in adolescence. He did extensive work on temperament and gave insight on emotion.
In 2001, he was listed in the Review of General Psychology among the one hundred most eminent psychologists of the twentieth century. After being evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively, Kagan was twenty-second on the list, just above Carl Jung.
Kagan has shown that an infant's "temperament" is quite stable over time, in that certain behaviors in infancy are predictive of certain other behavior patterns in adolescence. He did extensive work on temperament and gave insight on emotion.
In 2001, he was listed in the Review of General Psychology among the one hundred most eminent psychologists of the twentieth century. After being evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively, Kagan was twenty-second on the list, just above Carl Jung.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 12, 2017
“A complete understanding of brain is not synonymous with a full understanding of mind”.
The book commences as a biography of Kagan’s career as a research psychologist, along the historical timeline of psychology’s development as a branch of science. Kagan describes the current concepts, and failures, of psychology’s main movements during its young history (Freudism, behaviourism, cognitive psychology). Today, neurobiology attempts to use “hard science” by employing diagnostic imagery like PET, CAT, and MRI to explain psychological processes. A popular notion is brain site activation is a predictor of human behaviour.
Brain site activation is a general cortical process, not a specific one. Kagan states that it’s futile to find a place in the brain that is the essence of a thought or feeling. Activation is not consistent between individuals, or even with the same individual during different times. It is a correlate of a psychological process, not a precedent.
The neurobiological approach is reductionist, and it implies that all concepts of living things can be explained by simple, biological terms. But psychological concepts like “perception, thought, and feeling” are ethereal and cannot be explained by terms like “neuronal firing”, and “radioactive emission”, which are quantitative measures. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and simple terms cannot describe complex phenomena without loss of meaning.
I get a sense of bitter competition between psychology and neurobiology in getting limited funding for research, with neurobiology trying to squeeze psychology out of this “turf war” over human behaviour. Kagan, a veteran of psychological research during its fledgling years, defends it as a science in its own right. He doesn’t dismiss biology as being unimportant in understanding human behaviour, but terse and limited in its attempts to explain it. Kagan respects biology’s ability to quantify some inner processes that psychology cannot. But biology, in doing so, oversimplifies these processes, and meaning is lost in these in explanations. We hear about “turf wars” between many other disciplines: a sign that funding is limited. And disciplines fight by discrediting others to get it.
“Celebrating Mind” is the guts of the book, and if you cannot read the whole book, this is the essential chapter.
Although a difficult book to read, and sometimes disjointed, this is an eye-opening book by Dr. Kagan. I learned an informative overview of psychology, its past and present concepts, and struggles. I also feel more defensive of its discipline as a science with its own foundation.
The book commences as a biography of Kagan’s career as a research psychologist, along the historical timeline of psychology’s development as a branch of science. Kagan describes the current concepts, and failures, of psychology’s main movements during its young history (Freudism, behaviourism, cognitive psychology). Today, neurobiology attempts to use “hard science” by employing diagnostic imagery like PET, CAT, and MRI to explain psychological processes. A popular notion is brain site activation is a predictor of human behaviour.
Brain site activation is a general cortical process, not a specific one. Kagan states that it’s futile to find a place in the brain that is the essence of a thought or feeling. Activation is not consistent between individuals, or even with the same individual during different times. It is a correlate of a psychological process, not a precedent.
The neurobiological approach is reductionist, and it implies that all concepts of living things can be explained by simple, biological terms. But psychological concepts like “perception, thought, and feeling” are ethereal and cannot be explained by terms like “neuronal firing”, and “radioactive emission”, which are quantitative measures. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and simple terms cannot describe complex phenomena without loss of meaning.
I get a sense of bitter competition between psychology and neurobiology in getting limited funding for research, with neurobiology trying to squeeze psychology out of this “turf war” over human behaviour. Kagan, a veteran of psychological research during its fledgling years, defends it as a science in its own right. He doesn’t dismiss biology as being unimportant in understanding human behaviour, but terse and limited in its attempts to explain it. Kagan respects biology’s ability to quantify some inner processes that psychology cannot. But biology, in doing so, oversimplifies these processes, and meaning is lost in these in explanations. We hear about “turf wars” between many other disciplines: a sign that funding is limited. And disciplines fight by discrediting others to get it.
“Celebrating Mind” is the guts of the book, and if you cannot read the whole book, this is the essential chapter.
Although a difficult book to read, and sometimes disjointed, this is an eye-opening book by Dr. Kagan. I learned an informative overview of psychology, its past and present concepts, and struggles. I also feel more defensive of its discipline as a science with its own foundation.
January 14, 2009
Found his book 'Handbook of Child Psychology' rich with fascinating information. Chapter on Human Morality asks then answers some fantastic questions. This book is even more rewarding! Dr. Kagan has written, spoke on and taught many topics in psychology, and in this book he reviews some perspectives or approaches in the field, as well as some predictions and recommendations for the future. Well worth reading for the new psychology student or current practitioner.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews