Premium
Utopianism in psychology: The case of Wilhelm Reich
Author(s) -
Pietikainen Petteri
Publication year - 2002
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/jhbs.10034
Subject(s) - behaviorism , history of psychology , epistemology , utopia , psychoanalysis , theoretical psychology , psychology , philosophy of psychology , nazi germany , psychology of science , philosophy , sociology , art history , german , art , linguistics
Abstract This article examines utopian elements in Wilhelm Reich's writings in his American phase (1939–1957) in order to illustrate utopian sources of dynamic psychology. Although there are scholars who have used the term “psychological utopia” and applied it to individual thinkers (Reich, Marcuse, Fromm) and to specific psychological disciplines (psychoanalysis, behaviorism, cognitive psychology), the term itself has remained elusive and vague. Furthermore, there have been few attempts to systematically examine utopian elements in twentieth‐century psychology in general and the basic assumptions of psychological utopianism in particular. While pointing out that Reich's orgonomic theories have no scientific merit, this article argues for the relevancy of his ideas for understanding the nature of utopianism in dynamic psychology. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.