Posts Tagged psychology

Modern Psychology: Illusions and Dogma

Psychology: Aspirations and Possibilities Pick any university in the world, and you will almost certainly find that the undergraduate program with the highest enrollment is psychology. Psychology programs offer a major source of university funding, yet few students will ever continue on to graduate school or use their degrees in any direct way. There is […]

Absurdity (Part 1 of 4): A Starting Point

Few understood the concept of the ‘absurd’ as intimately as Albert Camus, whose thoughts are most clearly outlined in his 1942 essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. For Camus, there is no question more crucial than that of life meaning: “I see many people die because they judge that life is not worth living. I see […]

Logical Fallacies in Psychology

Logical fallacies frequently committed by experimental and clinical psychologists: Denying the Antecedent: If x, then y. Not x. Therefore, not y. Example 1: “If I am charged by an ethics board, then I did something unethical. I am not charged by an ethics board. Therefore, I did nothing unethical.” This is an illogical conclusion since […]

Psychology’s Neglect of Philosophy

Psychology’s neglect of Philosophy It is interesting to observe that up until the 19th century, psychology was informally a branch of philosophy. Questions related to the human mind, and even the treatment of mental ailments such as existential angst and despair, were traditionally concerns of philosophy. Of course, they now fall within the domain of […]