German Critical Psychology
The origin of critical psychology lies in the criticism of science by the student movement at the end of the 1960s as an aspect of social criticism. It is primarily associated with the name Klaus HOLZKAMP, who played a decisive role in the further development of the concept, which is in the tradition of Marxist social analysis. But what does this criticism actually consist of? Criticism, after all, is a general aspect of science generally speaking. The specific feature of critical psychology is its elaboration of the connection between psychology and social criticism. This criticism consists primarily in the criticism of the function of psychology as a science of domination and adaptation in capitalist society. And, in point of fact, there exists almost no area of society in whose development and reproduction psychologists are not involved. They work in companies to optimize production processes, motivate children and employees, develop software and marketing strategies, look after bomber pilots, etc. These and other specific activities can never be considered in isolation from the overall social context. The issue of the function of psychology as a science in society represents a crucial moment in the scientific activity of both teachers and students and, therefore, requires a form of joint examination. "Scientific concepts have the peculiarity that they favor certain questions and thus tend to exclude others. It is, therefore, necessary to ask which open or hidden social positions are contained in questions associated with psychological concepts and how these positions are conveyed with the scientific content of the concepts. (Morus Markard: @Theses on the lecture at the Technical University of Dresden, 2000) Motivation can be understood, for instance, as people wanting what they should want as a result of a psychological intervention. But the question can equally be posed in whose interest do these diverse forms of desire exist not to mention how my own opportunities in life might or might not be affected if I manage to accomplish all the tasks set for me. Critical psychology is about working out options for action, especially opportunities for development. These options for action are not simply given to individuals themselves but always in relationship to socially mediated hindrances to action that need to be clarified. The basis of Subjektwissenschaft against the background of dialectical, materialist principles of reflection is, therefore, a functional-historical categorical analysis, a method that constitutes basic psychological categories, since reality is never given to us directly but is always mediated through its social meanings and the concepts corresponding to them. The object of Subjektwissenschaft is not the subject itself per se but rather the world as the subject feels, thinks, acts upon and experiences it as well as how it becomes comprehensible through the dissecting of and the unpacking of experience. In this sense, this manner of analysis of experience is about the theoretical grasping of the underlying premises and connections and thus the avoidance of interpretations through thinking in terms of personality traits or characteristics (e.g. lazy, intelligent...) with which people are labeled. According to Holzkamp, the act of attributing forms of personality is extremely abstract, as it fixates people on a certain kind of existence and neglects the reasons for action and the principal premises at play. The individual's control over their own living conditions as well as their participation in the control over the overall social process - as a dialectical principle - is the focus of Holzkamp's conception. (Holzkamp, Foundations of Psychology, 1983: Campus) Critical psychology is a never-ending process of gaining knowledge in the face of superficiality and pseudo-knowledge. It consists in a permanent questioning of what seems to be self-evident, a constant reflection of our own thoughts and actions. (Ute Osterkamp: Sonderpiranha, 2000: FSI FU Berlin.)
This text was written in 2000 during my studies of psychology.
Image: Unsplash: Markus Spiske, 2024
Write comment
Your email address will not be published. Comments are published only after moderation.
Comments ()