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The Hidden Roots of Critical Psychology: Understanding the Impact of Locke, Shaftesbury and Reid
Author(s): Michael Billig (Author)
- Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
- Publication Date: February 26, 2008
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 232 pages
- ISBN-10: 1412947243
- ISBN-13: 9781412947244
Book Description
In the early modern period, thinkers like the earl of Shaftesbury and Thomas Reid reacted against Locke′s cognitive psychology in ways that were surprisingly modern, if not post-modern. However, Shaftesbury and Reid have been virtually written out of psychology′s history. It is now time to recognize the great originality of their psychological thinking. Writing in a non-technical style, Michael Billig seeks to overturn the dominant views of psychology′s history. In so doing, he gives a fascinating account of the times, bringing psychology′s hidden past vividly back to life.
Insightful and entertaining,
The Hidden Roots of Critical Psychology is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students studying conceptual and historical issues in psychology. The book′s highly original argument should also appeal to psychologists more generally and to specialists in the history of ideas.Editorial Reviews
Review
“Billig (Loughborough Univ., UK) provides a fascinating, thought-provoking history of the early origins of contemporary critical psychology. The author characterizes critical psychology as an approach that assumes the mind is socially and historically constructed. He contrasts this with mainstream cognitive psychology, in which the mind is reduced to the processes of individual thought. Although this debate is commonly viewed as having a short history (origins in the mid-20th century), Billig traces its origins back to the early-modern period (17th century), when John Locke′s conception of a cognitive-based psychology first appeared. Locke′s individualistic perspective was challenged by the socially based conceptions of the Earl of Shaftsbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper, Locke′s foster son) and Thomas Reid. This book is especially valuable because it uncovers hidden lines of intellectual influence, which thus challenge assumptions about the founding of psychological schools of thought. In his conclusion, Billig points to the need to revise the history of psychology and to bring social and historical inquiry back into psychology. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, and faculty.”
— H.L. Minton ― CHOICE magazine Published On: 2009-02-13
About the Author
In his work, Michael has attempted to approach social psychological issues from a broader base within the social sciences. He has written books on a variety of topics. His books for SAGE include
Banal Nationalism, in which he argued that in established nation-states there is an everyday, often unnoticed form of nationalism. Ideological Dilemmas, written in collaboration with other members of the Loughborough Discourse and Rhetoric Group, suggested that we should study ideology by examining how people argue and use language in everyday life. SAGE also published his book The Hidden Roots of Critical Psychology, which argues that the neglected figure of the third earl of Shaftesbury should be seen as a pivotal influence in the history of psychology, especially in the history of critical psychology. Michael has also written books on rhetoric, fascism, Freud′s theory of repression, attitudes towards the British Royal Family and the history of rock′n′roll. His current work argues forcefully that academic social scientists use too much technical terminology and that ordinary concepts are often much clearer than technical ones.
