Publisher's Synopsis
The Chicago School of Functionalism was a major revolutionary force in psychology and philosophy. Its stunningly original use of evolutionary biology and experimental psychology created a novel pragmatic approach to the explanation of human behavior and intelligence. John Dewey, James Angell, and their students defended the astounding claim that a theory of reasoning and knowledge could be erected on empirical investigations into the natural functionings of the human nervous system.
Volume 1 contains central documents of the functionalist tradition, displaying its foundations and growth. Dewey's early psychological papers are followed by many key research papers published from the Psychological Laboratory of the University of Chicago. This volume also documents functionalism's competition with its primary rivals for the future of psychology: James Mark Baldwin's genetic psychology and E. B. Titchener's structuralism. Volume 2 presents the founding manifesto of the Chicago instrumentalism, Studies in Logical Theory, which offers a theory of knowledge grounded in the principles of functional psychology. Dewey and his graduate students announced to the world a new contribution to pragmatism, which was met with both exuberant cries of triumph (especially William James's), to suspicious and critical assessments from other schools of thought. Volume 3 reprints the only psychology textbook of Chicago functionalism ever published, by its acknowledged leader, James R. Angell. This volume also contains several reviews and Angell's autobiographical essay portraying the formative influence of other pragmatists on his psychology.
The Chicago School of Functionalism offers an unparalleled opportunity to study in detail the growth of a major school of American thought that transformed both psychology and philosophy. Its three volumes gather together scarce materials that have been long out of print and buried in journals and archives. This collection will be indispensable for the study of American intellectual history.
-major school of American thought that transformed both psychology and philosophy
-facsimile and reset materials, annotated, indexed and enhanced by new editorial introductions
-includes a wealth of obscure, rare and hard-to-find original materials
Volume 1 contains central documents of the functionalist tradition, displaying its foundations and growth. Dewey's early psychological papers are followed by many key research papers published from the Psychological Laboratory of the University of Chicago. This volume also documents functionalism's competition with its primary rivals for the future of psychology: James Mark Baldwin's genetic psychology and E. B. Titchener's structuralism. Volume 2 presents the founding manifesto of the Chicago instrumentalism, Studies in Logical Theory, which offers a theory of knowledge grounded in the principles of functional psychology. Dewey and his graduate students announced to the world a new contribution to pragmatism, which was met with both exuberant cries of triumph (especially William James's), to suspicious and critical assessments from other schools of thought. Volume 3 reprints the only psychology textbook of Chicago functionalism ever published, by its acknowledged leader, James R. Angell. This volume also contains several reviews and Angell's autobiographical essay portraying the formative influence of other pragmatists on his psychology.
The Chicago School of Functionalism offers an unparalleled opportunity to study in detail the growth of a major school of American thought that transformed both psychology and philosophy. Its three volumes gather together scarce materials that have been long out of print and buried in journals and archives. This collection will be indispensable for the study of American intellectual history.
-major school of American thought that transformed both psychology and philosophy
-facsimile and reset materials, annotated, indexed and enhanced by new editorial introductions
-includes a wealth of obscure, rare and hard-to-find original materials
