Personality as Art: Artistic Approaches to Psychology

Personality as Art: Artistic Approaches to Psychology

by PeterChadwick (Author)

Synopsis

Not everyone wants to live a rational life, or a life guided by the advice of science. Here Peter Chadwick explores Person as Artist, rather than Person as Scientist, and so establishes an alternative ideology for psychology which looks at Life as Art. Chadwick concentrates on the beauty of personality, rather than its traits and constructs, and the music of the mind, rather than its structure and function. Using artistic methods such as the biographical sketch, photography, prose, poetry, music, autobiography and stream-of-consciousness writing, he explores the momentary, the expressive, the intangible and the aesthetic aspects of personality so readily ignored in scientific analysis. By studying both the individual person in context and in detail, and by calling on the ideas of mind and self-hood of great writers, an appreciation of personality is reached that is different from, and deeper than, the generalizations of mass-population study.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 199
Publisher: PCCS Books
Published: 25 Jul 2001

ISBN 10: 1898059357
ISBN 13: 9781898059356

Media Reviews
It is rare to read a book that is truly inspirational. This is one of those books ... You need to be aware that the book is aimed at psychology graduates and all those interested in the science versus art debate. It is, therefore, fairly technical in its examination of the academic subject of psychology (eg structualism, rationalism and positivism versus constructivism, expressionism and phenomenology). That said, how Chadwick does this is quite remarkable ... This is a beautiful book written by a deep, caring man who knows his subject well. I warmly recommend it. Theodore Stickley, University of Nottingham, Openmind, March/April 2002
Author Bio
Peter Chadwick was born in Manchester in 1946 and originally trained as a geologist before switching careers to psychology in 1973. He has batchelor degrees and doctorates in both subjects. Originally he worked in the field of perception, but after a paranoid illness in 1979 he moved to the field of schizophrenia research. Since 1979 he has researched the links between mystical and psychotic states and the uncovering of psychological factors underlying schizophrenic and paranoid disorders. He is currently working on artistic approaches in clinical psychology, psychiatry and personality which he believes will give added depth and subtlety to these fields. He has written some seventy articles and four books. He currently lectures in psychology for Birkbeck College, London, UK, and for the Open University.