Psychological Knowledge

‘Martin Kusch’s important philosophical contribution is to demonstrate the implicit individualism running through the entire literature on folk-psychology. By exposing and challenging this, he has radically changed the terms of the debate. To understand Kusch’s thesis that psychological concepts are social institutions is to understand that there must be a Gestalt switch in the entire field of philosophical psychology. To combine such a significant philosophical contribution with a brilliant, in-depth historical case-study is an achievement indeed.’ David Bloor, University of Edinburgh ‘Psychological Knowledge is an extremely fine work. In both approach and subject matter, it is related to Martin Kusch’s earlier terrific book, Psychologism, and is a very worthy successor.’ James Robert Brown, University of Toronto ‘Martin Kusch makes a compelling case that the practices of both “academic” and “folk” psychology are best approached as social institutions. In so doing he provides us with a viable transdisciplinary approach to science studies which speaks authoritatively to philosophers, historians, sociologists, and psychologists of science alike. Psychological Knowledge is an important book.’ Paul Stenner, Bath University ‘Psychological Knowledge is a masterly and timely work. It makes accessible the results of meticulous and wide-ranging scholarship. This book is beautifully clear and well organised, complete with summaries and easily memorable labels—suitable for pedagogical purposes as well as essential reading for the research community.’ Elizabeth Valentine, University of London Martin Kusch is Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He is also the author of Psychologism, Foucault’s Strata and Fields and Language as Calculus vs. Language as the Universal Medium. Philosophical Issues in Science

Edited by W.H.Newton-Smith Balliol College, Oxford

Real History Martin Bunzl

Brute Science Hugh LaFollette and Niall Shanks

Living in a Technological Culture Mary Tiles and Hans Oberdiek

The Rational and the Social James Robert Brown

The Nature of the Disease Lawrie Reznek

The Philosophical Defence of Psychiatry Lawrie Reznek

Inference to the Best Examination Peter Lipton

Time, Space and Philosophy Christopher Ray

Mathematics and Image of Reason Mary Tiles

Evil or Ill? Lawrie Reznek

The Ethics of Science An Introduction David B.Resnik

Philosophy of Mathematics An Introduction to a World of Proofs and Pictures James Robert Brown

Theories of Consciousness An Introduction and Assessment William Seager

Psychologism A Case Study in the Sociology of Philosophical Knowledge Martin Kusch

Psychological Knowledge A Social History and Philosophy Martin Kusch Psychological Knowledge A social history and philosophy Martin Kusch

London and New York First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1999 Martin Kusch All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Kusch, Martin. Psychological Knowledge: A social history and philosophy/ Martin Kusch. (Philosophical issues in science) 1. Psychology— Philosophy. 2. Psychology—History. 3. Philosophy of mind. I. Title. II. Series BF38.K87 1999 98–35091 150′.1—dc21 CIP

ISBN 0-203-98487-0 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-415-19253-6 (Print Edition)

And pardon that thy secrets should be sung…

John Keats, Ode to Psyche Contents

List of illustrations viii Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

5 PART I A social history of psychological knowledge: the controversy over thought psychology in Germany, 1900–20

Introduction to Part I 6 1 The Würzburgers 12 2 Friends and foes 51 3 Recluse or drillmaster versus interlocutor and interrogator 68 4 Purist versus promiscuist 94 5 Collectivist versus individualist 121 6 Protestant versus Catholic 141 7 Conclusions 168 Interlude 186

202 PART II The sociophilosophy of folk psychology

Introduction to Part II 203 8 The folk psychology debate 205 9 Folk psychology as a social institution 234

Notes 270 Bibliography 275 Index 297 Illustrations

Tables

1.1 The five main groups of reaction experiments 24

Figures

1.1 Ach’s theory of awareness 35

1.2 Marbe’s externalist theory of judgement 46

1.3 The share of visual presentations across Watt’s tasks for 50

experimental subjects

1.4 Time used by experimental subjects across Watt’s tasks 51

1.5 Familiarity across Watt’s tasks 52

1.6 Ach’s theory of determining tendencies 58

1.7 The creation of new associations in Ach’s theory 60

1.8 Bühler’s analysis of thought recall 64

7.1 Summary of the analysis: Wundt 233

7.2 Summary of the analysis: the Würzburgers 234 Acknowledgements

The story of writing this book is a tale of three cities. I started the research reported here as a member of the Science Studies Unit of the University of Edinburgh in 1994, and I could never have completed this study without the support of my friends, colleagues, and students in the Scottish capital. David Bloor’s advice and encouragement have been crucial throughout: David and I have discussed central themes, and various versions, of this book for many hours, and there is hardly an idea here that was not first tested by him. Other key Edinburghers were Celia Bloor, Claude Charpentier, Sarah Gore-Cortes, Heini Hakosalo, John Henry, Peter Imhof, Matthias Klaes, Donald MacKenzie, Pauline Padfield, Irene Rafanell, Steve Sturdy, Carole Tansley (who kindly corrected the English of some early versions of parts of the manuscript, and who unsuccessfully tried to teach me the British sense of humour), and the students of my courses on ‘The History of Experimental Psychology’, ‘The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge’, ‘The Continental Tradition in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences’, and ‘Science and Society’. The main bulk of this text was written during the academic year 1996–7, while I was a visitor to Gerd Gigerenzer’s research group at the Max-Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich, and holder of a fellowship of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation. I gratefully acknowledge Gerd’s help and the generous support of both institutions. All members of Gerd’s ‘ABC-group’ were, in one way or another, supportive of my work, and thus it seems only right and proper that I list them here: Ellen Bein, Marina von Bernhardi, Patricia Berretty, Bernhard Borges, Valerie Chase, Jean Czerlinski, Jennifer Davis, Gerd Gigerenzer, Dan Goldstein, Adam Goodie, Ralph Hertwig, Ulrich Hoffrage, Tim Ketelaar, Nicola Korherr, Alejandro Lopez, Laura Martignon, Franz Mechsner, Andreas Ortmann, Arne Schwarz, Anita Todd, Peter Todd, Angelika Weber, Greg Werner, and Maria Zumbeel. In particular, I am indebted to Anita for checking the style and grammar of the whole manuscript; to Angelika for breakfasts, conversations, and insomnia treatments at the ‘Extrablatt’; to Laura for numerous joint explorations into social institutions and Italian food; to Marina for ‘Kalbszunge’, political education, wonderful outings, and assistance in a million-and-one practical matters; to Trish for tours around Bavaria, Austria, and the Czech Republic, spiced with arguments about 2+2=4; and to Adam, Arne, Franz, Gerd, Jean, Jennifer, Ralph, and Tim for several useful exchanges. Outside Gerd’s research group, I profited from conversations with Fiorello Banci, Harriet Murphy, Ulla Mitzdorf, and Gertrud Nunner-Winkler.