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A Student's Guide to Psychology
A concise overview of the field of psychology—its historical roots, its most influential thinkers, and its role in the modern world.
Psychology is frequently the most popular major on campus, but it can also be the most treacherous. In this guide, Daniel N. Robinson surveys the philosophical and historical roots of modern psychology and sketches the major schools and thinkers of the discipline. He also identifies those false prejudices—such as contempt for metaphysics and the notion that the mind can be reduced to the chemical processes of the brain—that so often perplex and mislead students of psychology. He ends by calling for psychology to investigate more intensively the problems of moral and civic development. Readers will find Robinson’s book to be an indispensable orientation to this culturally influential field.
Psychology is frequently the most popular major on campus, but it can also be the most treacherous. In this guide, Daniel N. Robinson surveys the philosophical and historical roots of modern psychology and sketches the major schools and thinkers of the discipline. He also identifies those false prejudices—such as contempt for metaphysics and the notion that the mind can be reduced to the chemical processes of the brain—that so often perplex and mislead students of psychology. He ends by calling for psychology to investigate more intensively the problems of moral and civic development. Readers will find Robinson’s book to be an indispensable orientation to this culturally influential field.
70 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
20 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Daniel N. Robinson
70 books75 followersDaniel N. Robinson is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Georgetown University and a Fellow of the Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University.
Robinson has published in a wide variety of subjects, including moral philosophy, the philosophy of psychology, legal philosophy, the philosophy of the mind, intellectual history, legal history, and the history of psychology. He has held academic positions at Amherst College, Georgetown University, Princeton University, and Columbia University. In addition, he served as the principal consultant to PBS and the BBC for their award-winning series 'The Brain' and 'The Mind', and he lectured for 'The Great Courses' series on Philosophy. He is on the Board of Consulting Scholars of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and is a Senior Fellow of BYU's Wheatley Institution. In 2011 he received the Gittler Award from the American Psychological Association for significant contributions to the philosophical foundations of Psychology.
Robinson has published in a wide variety of subjects, including moral philosophy, the philosophy of psychology, legal philosophy, the philosophy of the mind, intellectual history, legal history, and the history of psychology. He has held academic positions at Amherst College, Georgetown University, Princeton University, and Columbia University. In addition, he served as the principal consultant to PBS and the BBC for their award-winning series 'The Brain' and 'The Mind', and he lectured for 'The Great Courses' series on Philosophy. He is on the Board of Consulting Scholars of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and is a Senior Fellow of BYU's Wheatley Institution. In 2011 he received the Gittler Award from the American Psychological Association for significant contributions to the philosophical foundations of Psychology.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 25, 2020
This book, as is not uncommon in this series [1], this book took a familiar subject and decided to approach it from an angle that I did not really foresee, and that is looking at psychology, which is nearly universally viewed as being a phenomenon of the late 19th century, as being the result of the thinking of Greek philosophers. And indeed this aspect of this short book is what is the most puzzling, as psychology underlies a great deal of the concerns of the ancient world (including the history of ancient Israel). If the author's approach to this material is somewhat striking and unusual, there is at least one obvious point that the author has when it come to psychology and that is to explore some of the tensions that exist within the field and some of the areas where a deeper understanding of psychology may prove to be useful as a line of inquiry. It is hopeful at least that some readers of this book may be able to examine some of the fruitful research avenues that the author lays out, as they are highly relevant in our time.
This book is a particularly short one at less than 100 pages. It begins with a subject and then discusses the invention of psychology in the ancient world. The author focuses his interest on ancient Greece, and on the naturalistic perspective gained from Aristotle as well as those developments that took place both before and after him. The author looks at psychology as science and how this came about as a result of Darwinian evolutionary theory while also discussing developments in neurophysiolgy and neurology to contemporary understanding of the mind. The author then looks at various schools and approaches of psychology, including behaviorism, neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience, and Freud and depth psychology. The author also discusses the social context of psychology as well as the moral and civic aspects of human development as well as providing an epilogue that deals with abiding issues in the field of psychology that the author finds to be of interest. This leads to suggestions for further reading as well as an encouragement to the student reader to embark on a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and self-reliance.
There are at least a few takeaways that this reader at least took from this slim volume. For one, the field of psychology is far longer in its historical origins than is commonly recommended. It seems puzzling why the history of psychology so frequently begins with Freud rather than looking at the philosophical and moral interests of the ancient world where the study of the mind began. Secondly, it is strange and remarkable that psychology struggles so mightily to say something useful or interesting about people individually, given that is the reason why people seek after this field in the first place. The desire to be recognized as a science and an art has made psychology adept at summarizing the average mind but lacking insights into the particular minds that practitioners of the field deal with. In addition to this, psychology as a whole has largely not dealt with large issues, such as politics, where it may provide useful insights that may be of use to society as a whole. What all of this suggests is that in the history, practice, and conception of psychology and its disciplines that there is a lot of work that can be done by those who are willing to go in unusual directions and carve out largely virgin territory.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
This book is a particularly short one at less than 100 pages. It begins with a subject and then discusses the invention of psychology in the ancient world. The author focuses his interest on ancient Greece, and on the naturalistic perspective gained from Aristotle as well as those developments that took place both before and after him. The author looks at psychology as science and how this came about as a result of Darwinian evolutionary theory while also discussing developments in neurophysiolgy and neurology to contemporary understanding of the mind. The author then looks at various schools and approaches of psychology, including behaviorism, neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience, and Freud and depth psychology. The author also discusses the social context of psychology as well as the moral and civic aspects of human development as well as providing an epilogue that deals with abiding issues in the field of psychology that the author finds to be of interest. This leads to suggestions for further reading as well as an encouragement to the student reader to embark on a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and self-reliance.
There are at least a few takeaways that this reader at least took from this slim volume. For one, the field of psychology is far longer in its historical origins than is commonly recommended. It seems puzzling why the history of psychology so frequently begins with Freud rather than looking at the philosophical and moral interests of the ancient world where the study of the mind began. Secondly, it is strange and remarkable that psychology struggles so mightily to say something useful or interesting about people individually, given that is the reason why people seek after this field in the first place. The desire to be recognized as a science and an art has made psychology adept at summarizing the average mind but lacking insights into the particular minds that practitioners of the field deal with. In addition to this, psychology as a whole has largely not dealt with large issues, such as politics, where it may provide useful insights that may be of use to society as a whole. What all of this suggests is that in the history, practice, and conception of psychology and its disciplines that there is a lot of work that can be done by those who are willing to go in unusual directions and carve out largely virgin territory.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
January 20, 2026
I found myself quickly attracted and attentive to the writing of Robinson after the prologue. It greatly reminds me of Josef Pieper. Robinson sets out to make two fundamental bubbles that psychology embraces: the fluid reality of our actions and the events surrounding them, which are dependent on various internal and external factors, as well as the determination of our biological and social states. Without these considerations, the picture lacks its paint to make the image convey its message.
He sets out to give a historic overview of proto-psychological inquries and psychological discussion prior to the scholastic and pre-modern studies by beginning with the Greeks- acknowledging their example as a primacy of not being the first to ask questions that psychology takes, but rather they're accredited to a mode of analysis that was very plural/fluid in the critical thinking that was propagated, and that their psychological related discussions that were inheritly philosophical was distinct, though not viewed independent, of the religious culture that surrounded them. There are also small biographies that carry on through the book that I enjoyed.
The author does have an agenda in which he is entirely against the denial of the importance of metaphysics in psychology and, in particular, the schools of the logical positivist and behavioralist. But are agendas a bad thing? He offers an analogy to the problems proposed by those individuals who are subsequently extinct by today's time, a great credit who isn't mentioned in this book is Ludwig Wittgenstein, an analytical philosopher who wrote against the Vienna practicioners.
"If for example, physics is to be taken as the study of matter and enegery and the laws that governing their behavior, then there must be some basis in which to identify a relationship as a law, an entity as matter, an influence as energy, ect. In a word, every special field of scientific inquiry has ineliminably metaphysical foundation..." [Ontology & Epistemology]
"There can be no science independent of these foundations, for it would be like swinging a gate without hinges "
The author, while showing his contempt against these parties, is not dishonest about their beliefs in which he lays out in brief. In short, the propaganda that is offered isn't to be discarded because it's not untrue. He offers small arguments against the positions that may probably serve best elsewhere in another writing, but they are only sufficient for a refutation. He then acknowledges, later in the book, psychology in the contemporary era, has many members who are moral relativist and follow other practices that he has a distaste for.
I would greatly recommend this to someone interested in psychology as a normie. It isn't a compendium. It's not a giant textbook. And it isn't a long trickle of just mere facts that may bore the reader. It's easy to follow and can introduce someone to a great number of characters and the most influential text-book people who are studied at the university level.
He sets out to give a historic overview of proto-psychological inquries and psychological discussion prior to the scholastic and pre-modern studies by beginning with the Greeks- acknowledging their example as a primacy of not being the first to ask questions that psychology takes, but rather they're accredited to a mode of analysis that was very plural/fluid in the critical thinking that was propagated, and that their psychological related discussions that were inheritly philosophical was distinct, though not viewed independent, of the religious culture that surrounded them. There are also small biographies that carry on through the book that I enjoyed.
The author does have an agenda in which he is entirely against the denial of the importance of metaphysics in psychology and, in particular, the schools of the logical positivist and behavioralist. But are agendas a bad thing? He offers an analogy to the problems proposed by those individuals who are subsequently extinct by today's time, a great credit who isn't mentioned in this book is Ludwig Wittgenstein, an analytical philosopher who wrote against the Vienna practicioners.
"If for example, physics is to be taken as the study of matter and enegery and the laws that governing their behavior, then there must be some basis in which to identify a relationship as a law, an entity as matter, an influence as energy, ect. In a word, every special field of scientific inquiry has ineliminably metaphysical foundation..." [Ontology & Epistemology]
"There can be no science independent of these foundations, for it would be like swinging a gate without hinges "
The author, while showing his contempt against these parties, is not dishonest about their beliefs in which he lays out in brief. In short, the propaganda that is offered isn't to be discarded because it's not untrue. He offers small arguments against the positions that may probably serve best elsewhere in another writing, but they are only sufficient for a refutation. He then acknowledges, later in the book, psychology in the contemporary era, has many members who are moral relativist and follow other practices that he has a distaste for.
I would greatly recommend this to someone interested in psychology as a normie. It isn't a compendium. It's not a giant textbook. And it isn't a long trickle of just mere facts that may bore the reader. It's easy to follow and can introduce someone to a great number of characters and the most influential text-book people who are studied at the university level.
April 18, 2022
All in all a pleasant, short and easy read; would recommend to a student of psychology or philosophy.
If you're a fan of Dan Robinson, this small book is a must: it is a very concise synopsis of all his previous books and lectures. Of course he self-plagiarizes a lot. The first third of the book is more about the history of philosophy than psychology, and mostly about Aristotle, the first proto-psychologist. The second third is about the history of psychology proper. The last third is more technical, with an epilogue concerning the possible future sub-fields of the discipline.
If you're a fan of Dan Robinson, this small book is a must: it is a very concise synopsis of all his previous books and lectures. Of course he self-plagiarizes a lot. The first third of the book is more about the history of philosophy than psychology, and mostly about Aristotle, the first proto-psychologist. The second third is about the history of psychology proper. The last third is more technical, with an epilogue concerning the possible future sub-fields of the discipline.
January 22, 2020
A very short read, helpful for getting a sense of the major players and movements in pyschological history. Robinson reminds the reader at the end about how young the discipline is and how many questions, especially related to the individual's formation, are left unanswered. Glad to have picked this little book up.
May 30, 2021
Much too short to even provide an overview of the topic. Look elsewhere to understand this topic.
July 5, 2024
holy ap psych throwback
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November 21, 2009None
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews