Course Description:

A history of psychology reflects cultural shifts and how we view ourselves: Where do we place humanity in relation to the world around us? What makes up an individual—their personality, their abilities? What are the implications of how we approach the study of human behavior? Do we see mental illness, for example, as a biological or spiritual disorder? How have philosophical and cultural shifts shaped the field? As with other sciences, psychology has evolved through changes in paradigms and technologies, making history of psychology a specific example of the history and philosophies of science in general. Therefore, a history of psychology goes well beyond circumscribed limits. By exploring the history and philosophy of psychology we’re also exploring big questions about what we are and how we come to understand that.

Course Objectives:

1) One of the primary goals of this class is for students to learn the philosophical roots and

historical events that have shaped the field of psychology. The main reason for this is to help

students place their own professional lives and work in a larger picture shaped by historical

and social factors. This will include an exploration of underlying philosophical assumptions,

individual contributors, and various forces that served to shape the emerging field of

psychology.

2) A second goal is for students to acquire a basic understanding of western (and, to an extent,

Indian) philosophical thought, to articulate a philosophy of their own, and apply that

philosophy to their professional work.

3) Acquiring understanding of the ways in which psychology's development has interacted with

society, in terms of both how the culture and context affected psychology's development and

how the field of psychology and its actors have shaped society.

4) Acquiring understanding of the major overarching themes and questions and their changes

over time (e.g., free will vs. determinism; interactions between heredity, biological influences,

and environment; subjectivity of perspectives, etc.).

5) A final goal of this course is for students to increase their ability to (a) think critically about

the science of psychology, (b) analyze psychological theory, research, and practice in a

historical context, and (c) develop ideas, critiques, and conclusions of their own.

MODULE – I: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 15 HRS

Understanding Science, History, and Philosophy; Psychology and Science; Persistent questions in

Psychology and approaches/methods for answering the questions: Mind-Body, nativism-empiricism,

mechanism-vitalism, reason – non-reason, objectivity-subjectivity, origin of human knowledge,

problem of the Self.

MODULE – II: FORERUNNERS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A

DISCIPLINE 15 HRS

Social and intellectual contexts of questions of ‘psyche’/’mind’: Greek, Pagan, Christian, Medieval,

Islam; The Scientific Revolution and the creation of consciousness – Psychology ‘invented’: Early

development of Psychology and Applied Psychology: Psychology of Consciousness, the Unconscious,

and adaptation.

MODULE – III: PSYCHOLOGY IN MODERNITY 15 HRS

Shift from mentalism to behaviorism; The rise of cognitivism; Psychology and ‘Minorities’; the rise of

Applied Psychology; The ‘Psychologized’ society; The value and role of contemporary Psychology.

MODULE – IV: LOOKING BACK TO MOVE AHEAD 15 HRS

Fort-Da between the Windscreen and the Rearview mirror; Defining the discipline (of Psychology)

through the methods and models (of Knowledge); Historicizing the categories of Psychology (normal/

abnormal, clinic); Possibilities of pre-modern Psychology (in India): drawing from Buddhism,

Girindra Sekhar Bose; Our vision of Psychology: an engaged but critical Psychology?

Primary Readings

· Hergenhahn, B.R. (1992). An introduction to the history of psychology. (2nd ed.). Wadsworth

Publishing Company: Belmont, California.

· Leahey, T.H. (2004). A history of psychology: Main currents in psychological thought. (6th

ed.). Pearson Education: Delhi.

Other Readings

Bermuidez, J. L (2006) (Ed). Philosophy of Psychology: Contemporary Readings

Dhar, A.K. 2008: Science(s) of the mind: Fort-da between the windscreen and the rearview

mirror (Working Paper).

· Gentile, B.F. & Miller, B.O. (2009). Foundations of psychological thought: A history of

· psychology. Sage: New Delhi.

· Gross, R. 1995: Themes, issues and debates in psychology. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

· Harris, B. 1997: Repoliticizing the history of psychology. In Critical psychology: an

· introduction. D. Fox and I. Prilleltensky (eds), London: Sage Publication.

· Jones, D. & Elcock, J. (2001). History and theories of psychology: A critical perspective.

· Arnold: London.

· Kuhn, T.S. 1962: The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

· Lawson, R.B., Graham, J.E., & Baker, K.M. (2007). A history of psychology: Globalization,

· ideas, and applications. Prentice Hall: New Delhi.

· McGhee, P. 2001: Thinking Psychologically. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

· Nandy, A. 2004: The savage Freud: The first non-western psychoanalyst and the politics of

secret selves in colonial India, (in ‘Bonfire of creeds: The essential Ashish Nandy) pp

339-393; Delhi: Oxford University Press.

· Nandy, A 2004: Towards an alternative politics of psychology, (in ‘Bonfire of creeds: The

essential Ashish Nandy) pp 324-338; Delhi: Oxford University Press.

· Robinson, D.N. (1995). An intellectual history of psychology. (3rd ed.). Arnold: London.

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