A Guided Science: History of Pscyhology in the Mirror of Its Making

Professor Valsiner develops here an opus magnum. It is, at the same time, a richly documented study of history of psychology, a cross-culturally informed prospection of the future of the discipline, as well as an essay on historiography of science. Overcoming the myth of psychology's birth through Wundt's first laboratory, Professor Valsiner shows that psychology cannot be understood ignoring the impact of Napoleonic occupation or the philosophical reaction to Kant in nineteenth-century Germany. His wholehearted and clear writing turns into an adventure, an erudite examination which goes deep into the most essential questions of psychology. It is a must for everyone interested in finding a third way between the theory-phobic empiricism and the postmodernist 'anything goes'

--Carlos Cornejo, associate professor, Department of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

This book is a discussion on the current making of psychology as it evolves from its past. It offers an unusual argument that gathers together elements of theory, sociology and anthropology of science with a critical examination of the constitutive moments of psychology as a liminal discipline. Avoiding a fossilized consideration of vestiges of the past, some often-neglected historical voices are presented as arising from their contemporary turmoils, and also brought into dialogue with current contributions and concerns voiced by newcomers from non-Western cultures. This is done by reflexively taking into account as much the unavoidable social guidance of knowledge construction, as the pledge to breaching the cultural blinders for developing a truly global psychology.

--Alberto Rosa, professor, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicologia

Professor Valsiner develops here an opus magnum. It is, at the same time, a richly documented study of history of psychology, a cross-culturally informed prospection of the future of the discipline, as well as an essay on historiography of science. Overcoming the myth of psychology's birth through Wundt's first laboratory, Professor Valsiner shows that psychology cannot be understood ignoring the impact of Napoleonic occupation or the philosophical reaction to Kant in nineteenth-century Germany. His wholehearted and clear writing turns into an adventure, an erudite examination which goes deep into the most essential questions of psychology. It is a must for everyone interested in finding a third way between the theory-phobic empiricism and the postmodernist 'anything goes'

--Carlos Cornejo, associate professor, Department of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

This book is a discussion on the current making of psychology as it evolves from its past. It offers an unusual argument that gathers together elements of theory, sociology and anthropology of science with a critical examination of the constitutive moments of psychology as a liminal discipline. Avoiding a fossilized consideration of vestiges of the past, some often-neglected historical voices are presented as arising from their contemporary turmoils, and also brought into dialogue with current contributions and concerns voiced by newcomers from non-Western cultures. This is done by reflexively taking into account as much the unavoidable social guidance of knowledge construction, as the pledge to breaching the cultural blinders for developing a truly global psychology.

--Alberto Rosa, professor, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicologia

-Professor Valsiner develops here an opus magnum. It is, at the same time, a richly documented study of history of psychology, a cross-culturally informed prospection of the future of the discipline, as well as an essay on historiography of science. Overcoming the myth of psychology's birth through Wundt's first laboratory, Professor Valsiner shows that psychology cannot be understood ignoring the impact of Napoleonic occupation or the philosophical reaction to Kant in nineteenth-century Germany. His wholehearted and clear writing turns into an adventure, an erudite examination which goes deep into the most essential questions of psychology. It is a must for everyone interested in finding a third way between the theory-phobic empiricism and the postmodernist 'anything goes'-

--Carlos Cornejo, associate professor, Department of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

-This book is a discussion on the current making of psychology as it evolves from its past. It offers an unusual argument that gathers together elements of theory, sociology and anthropology of science with a critical examination of the constitutive moments of psychology as a liminal discipline. Avoiding a fossilized consideration of vestiges of the past, some often-neglected historical voices are presented as arising from their contemporary turmoils, and also brought into dialogue with current contributions and concerns voiced by newcomers from non-Western cultures. This is done by reflexively taking into account as much the unavoidable social guidance of knowledge construction, as the pledge to breaching the cultural blinders for developing a truly global psychology.-

--Alberto Rosa, professor, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicologia