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On Critical Engagement with the Mainstream

Introduction

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, COLLEGE AT POTSDAM, tissawma{at}potsdam.edu

Lisa M. Osbeck

UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA, losbeck{at}westga.edu

This Special Issue foregrounds a need for critical reflection on the assumptions, biases, goals and effectiveness of the subdiscipline `theoretical and philosophical psychology.' Pivotal to the Issue is a contrast developed between criticism of and critical engagement with `mainstream' psychology. Contributions address a range of evaluative themes relating to theoretical and philosophical psychology's identity, representative breadth, impact, instrumentality, accuracy, fairness and flexibility. Themes include reflection on changes in the mainstream and on theoretical psychology's response. The aim is to offer a variety of perspectives rather than to seek definitive answers to any questions relating to the evaluative themes. Thus both pessimistic and optimistic accounts are given of the potential of theoretical and philosophical psychology to engage mainstream psychology critically. An additional organizing principle of the Issue is the representative inclusion of traditional branches of psychological research: cognitive, clinical, developmental, neuroscience, personality and social psychology. Within this structure, reflections on the status and efficacy of theoretical and philosophical psychology are both prospective and retrospective. Through its range of essays the Issue strives to make clear that `engagement with' is not equivalent to alliance or compliance, and that the relation of theoretical and philosophical psychology to the psychological community at large is a matter for continual and regular reappraisal.

Key Words: engagement with • fairness • flexibility • historical context • identity question • mainstream • reflexivity • representative breadth

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