I need to know where social psychology stands on the mind-body controversy and also where it stands on the reductionism/non-reductionism controversy. I need examples from each of these. Thanks

-- Kiera Regan (Kikiregan@yahoo.com), July 08, 2002

Answers

I am not a specialist in social psychology, but it is my strong impression that social psychology as a whole has *no* fixed position on the mind-body problem. Partly this is because it is not a problem that arises, particularly, in social psychology. Partly it is because social psychology is by no means a monolithic, or even particularly coherent, field. Many social psychologists would casually adopt the materialist monism they were taught in their own intro psychology courses years ago. Of course, this does not "solve" the problem, it merely asserts a faith in the principle that the problem will ultimately be solved in material terms. Some social psychologists have recently turned toward hermeneutic or postmodern views of "the mind" (e.g., Ken Gergen). These are not so much an attempts to *solve* the problem, per se, as they are efforts *dissolve* it as a mere artifact of the "modernist" project from Descartes forward.

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), July 09, 2002.