Psychological Knowledge: A Social History and Philosophy (Philosophical Issues in Science) - Hardcover

""Psychological Knowledge is an extremely fine work...In both approach and subject matter, it is related to his 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 organized, 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 ""Psychological Knowledge is very good indeed ... A fine piece of scholarship." -David Bloor, University of Edinburgh

Psychologists and philosophers have assumed that psychological knowledge is knowledge about, and held by, the individual mind. Psychological Knowledge challenges these views. It argues that bodies of psychological knowledge are social institutions like money or the monarchy, and that mental states are social artefacts like coins or crowns.
Martin Kusch takes on arguments of alternative proposals, shows what is wrong with them, and demonstrates how his own social-philosophical approach constitutes an advance. We see that exists a substantial natural amount of philosophical theorising, a body of work that tries to determine the nature and structure of folk psychology.
An introduction to the workings of constuctivism, Psychological Knowledge is an insightful introduction to the history of psychology and the recent philosophy of mind.