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Community Psychology Is (Thank God) More Than Science
Author(s) -
Rappaport Julian
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/s10464-005-3402-6
Subject(s) - community psychology , health psychology , social science education , conversation , field (mathematics) , state (computer science) , psychology of science , meaning (existential) , outline of social science , science, technology, society and environment education , criticism , sociology , behavioural sciences , psychology , social psychology , epistemology , social science , science education , political science , law , pedagogy , public health , philosophy , mathematics , algorithm , computer science , communication , medicine , nursing , pure mathematics
Thinking about Community Psychology primarily as a science may make it harder, rather than easier, to embrace certain aspects of the field to which we are deeply committed, but usually fall outside the conventional meaning of “doing science.” While community psychologists use (and expand) the tools of science, this is different than saying that Community Psychology is only, or even primarily, a science. The field is just as much social criticism as it is science. In order to further conversation about these matters, seven thoughts about why (thank God) community psychology is more than a science are offered, the most basic of which is that today the greatest danger to freedom is not in the union of church and state, but in the union of science and state.