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Wundt and after: Psychology's shifting relations with the natural sciences, social sciences, and philosophy
Author(s) -
Leary David E.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(197907)15:3<231::aid-jhbs2300150304>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - conceptualization , philosophy of psychology , epistemology , theoretical psychology , natural science , empirical psychology , context (archaeology) , psychology of science , critical psychology , relation (database) , natural (archaeology) , psychology , psychology, philosophy and physiology , social science , asian psychology , sociology , philosophy , history , linguistics , archaeology , database , computer science
Over the past one hundred years psychology has evolved into a major scientific discipline. Nonetheless, psychology is presently in a state of considerable turmoil regarding its proper subject matter and methods. Is psychology a natural science, a social science, or a hybrid of the two?What relation should psychology maintain with philosophy? These general questions, currently under debate, were addressed by Wilhelm Wundt, one of the founders of modern experimental psychology. This article is an attempt to specify Wundt's conceptualization of psychology and to place it in its historical context. Secondarily it also traces certain major developments since the time of Wundt. The conclusion that is reached is that the apparent contemporary “crisis” in psychology is really nothing new and that, in fact, the present condition of psychology does not necessarily constitute a crisis. In its broad outline at least, present‐day psychology reflects the program which Wundt espoused one hundred years ago.