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Jim, your post on positivism versus antipositivism gets me to reflect how this ideological difference appears in psychology. I work as a psychotherapist. The field is cauldron of diversity of perspectives. There are strong positivist streaks - such as the current demand for modalities to be "evidence based". Jungians, say, and psychodynamic approaches are more antipositivist (if I have your distinction right). The whole field is perhaps marginal in the struggle against capitalism, for all that the work at its best is a form of praxis. It involves a philosophy of human nature and society and a philosophy of change. A marxist perspective is relevant and I imagine it has been debated for the last hundred years in Marxist literature, but rarely in the mainstream of this branch of social science. Current training in all modalities of psychology lack an overt world view and are covertly embedded in capitalist thinking. Even so, some good work is being done to help people who need help and manage to get it. The positivist drive at present does seem to be designed to prop up capitalism. I see attempts in psychology to make the work "scientific", it might look like a form of positivism. Its hard to tell as most of it is scientism, pseudo science, physics-envy. People are not things and investigation needs a different form. I am steeped in the work of J.L.Moreno. He is the founder of sociometry and psychodrama. He was highly influential, but is not to be found in contemporary texts. He was scathing of Freud. Though he is not marxist he draws on Marx. For example one of the tenets is to "explore as well as treat in one stroke". The approach is dialectical, maybe that is a word for antipositivism? What I understand as dialectical here is approaching people as part of a living group, not "individual psyches". The emphasis is on the relationship between people. Change is not linear, and comes from within the system. I am motivated to further explore the relationship between marxism and psychological work. Freud / Marx discussions seem dated. Where to start? Walter Logeman _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
