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9781594037870 English 1594037876 An Admirable Evasion is a short book in which Dalrymple tries to show how human self-understanding has not been advanced by psychological thought of different schools which have held out the false promise of great advance. Psychological explanations of human behaviour are not only ludicrously inadequate oversimplifications, taking the part for the whole, ignoring the most obvious evidence, and generally doing violence to everyday experience, but they are socially harmful, in that they allow the person who believes in them, or at any rate some version of them, to evade his personal responsibility for his acts and put the blame elsewhere: his childhood, his genes, his neurochemistry, evolutionary pressure, etc. Psychoanalysis, behaviourism, modern neuroscience and evolutionary psychology prevent the kind of honest self-examination that is necessary in the formation of human character, and promotes instead a shallow psychobabble, which is self-obsession without such self-examination. Among other deleterious effects, psychology has promoted the gross overuse of medicines that affect the mind. The book also discusses the metaphysical reasons objections to the assumptions of psychology, and suggests that literature is actually more illuminating than psychology will ever be. Psychology destroys the awareness of the tragic dimension of life., In "Admirable Evasions," Theodore Dalrymple explains why human self-understanding has not been bettered by the false promises of the different schools of psychological thought. Most psychological explanations of human behavior are not only ludicrously inadequate oversimplifications, argues Dalrymple, they are socially harmful in that they allow those who believe in them to evade personal responsibility for their actions and to put the blame on a multitude of scapegoats: on their childhood, their genes, their neurochemistry, even on evolutionary pressures. Dalrymple reveals how the fashionable schools of psychoanalysis, behaviorism, modern neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology all prevent the kind of honest self-examination that is necessary to the formation of human character. Instead, they promote self-obsession without self-examination, and the gross overuse of medicines that affect the mind. "Admirable Evasions" also considers metaphysical objections to the assumptions of psychology, and suggests that literature is a far more illuminating window into the human condition than psychology could ever hope to be., In the short work Admirable Evasions , Theodore Dalrymple explains how human self-understanding has not been bettered by the different schools of psychological thought that hold out the false promise of great advances. Psychological explanations of human behavior are not only ludicrously inadequate oversimplifications--taking the part for the whole, ignoring the most obvious evidence, and generally doing violence to everyday experience--they are socially harmful, in that they allow the person who believes in them, or some version of them, to evade personal responsibility for his acts and to put the blame elsewhere: his childhood, his genes, his neurochemistry, evolutionary pressure, and so forth. Psychoanalysis, behaviorism, modern neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology all prevent the kind of honest self-examination that is necessary in the formation of human character; they instead promote a shallow psychobabble, which is self-obsession without self-examination. Among other deleterious effects, psychology has promoted the gross overuse of medicines that affect the mind. Dalrymple also discusses metaphysical objections to the assumptions of psychology, and suggests that literature is actually more illuminating than psychology could ever be: psychology destroys the awareness of the tragic dimension of life.
9781594037870 English 1594037876 An Admirable Evasion is a short book in which Dalrymple tries to show how human self-understanding has not been advanced by psychological thought of different schools which have held out the false promise of great advance. Psychological explanations of human behaviour are not only ludicrously inadequate oversimplifications, taking the part for the whole, ignoring the most obvious evidence, and generally doing violence to everyday experience, but they are socially harmful, in that they allow the person who believes in them, or at any rate some version of them, to evade his personal responsibility for his acts and put the blame elsewhere: his childhood, his genes, his neurochemistry, evolutionary pressure, etc. Psychoanalysis, behaviourism, modern neuroscience and evolutionary psychology prevent the kind of honest self-examination that is necessary in the formation of human character, and promotes instead a shallow psychobabble, which is self-obsession without such self-examination. Among other deleterious effects, psychology has promoted the gross overuse of medicines that affect the mind. The book also discusses the metaphysical reasons objections to the assumptions of psychology, and suggests that literature is actually more illuminating than psychology will ever be. Psychology destroys the awareness of the tragic dimension of life., In "Admirable Evasions," Theodore Dalrymple explains why human self-understanding has not been bettered by the false promises of the different schools of psychological thought. Most psychological explanations of human behavior are not only ludicrously inadequate oversimplifications, argues Dalrymple, they are socially harmful in that they allow those who believe in them to evade personal responsibility for their actions and to put the blame on a multitude of scapegoats: on their childhood, their genes, their neurochemistry, even on evolutionary pressures. Dalrymple reveals how the fashionable schools of psychoanalysis, behaviorism, modern neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology all prevent the kind of honest self-examination that is necessary to the formation of human character. Instead, they promote self-obsession without self-examination, and the gross overuse of medicines that affect the mind. "Admirable Evasions" also considers metaphysical objections to the assumptions of psychology, and suggests that literature is a far more illuminating window into the human condition than psychology could ever hope to be., In the short work Admirable Evasions , Theodore Dalrymple explains how human self-understanding has not been bettered by the different schools of psychological thought that hold out the false promise of great advances. Psychological explanations of human behavior are not only ludicrously inadequate oversimplifications--taking the part for the whole, ignoring the most obvious evidence, and generally doing violence to everyday experience--they are socially harmful, in that they allow the person who believes in them, or some version of them, to evade personal responsibility for his acts and to put the blame elsewhere: his childhood, his genes, his neurochemistry, evolutionary pressure, and so forth. Psychoanalysis, behaviorism, modern neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology all prevent the kind of honest self-examination that is necessary in the formation of human character; they instead promote a shallow psychobabble, which is self-obsession without self-examination. Among other deleterious effects, psychology has promoted the gross overuse of medicines that affect the mind. Dalrymple also discusses metaphysical objections to the assumptions of psychology, and suggests that literature is actually more illuminating than psychology could ever be: psychology destroys the awareness of the tragic dimension of life.