Development : the history of a psychological concept / Christopher Goodey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goodey, C. F., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Developmental psychology--History.

Developmental psychology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vi, 211 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Summary:

This book details the history of the idea of psychological development over the past two millennia. The developmental idea played a major part in the shift from religious ways of explaining human nature to secular, modern ones. In this shift, the 'elect' (chosen by God) became the 'normal' and grace was replaced by cognitive ability as the essentially human quality. A theory of psychological development was derived from theories of bodily development, leading scholars describe human beings as passing through necessary 'stages of development' over the lifespan. By exploring the historical and religious roots of modern psychological concepts and theories, this book demonstrates that history is a method for standing outside psychology and thereby evaluating its fundamental premises. It will spark new interest in the history, sociology and philosophy of the mind sciences, as well as in the rights of children and developmentally disabled people.

Contents:

Introduction

Development and the origin of psychological concepts

The history of Christianity and the first principles of development: linear time, interiority, structure

The history of education: rearing the elect child

Pascal on the ordering of human time

The normalization of the elect: Locke to Montesquieu

The coining of a developmental theory: Leibniz to Bonnet

Emile: Rousseau's well-ordered developer

Nature versus nurture and cognitive ability testing: historical sketches

Postscript: Further targets for historical research.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 11 Jun 2021).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-108-98786-9

1-108-98788-5

1-108-98084-8

OCLC:

1253442303