From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Thu Jul 06 2000 - 13:01:59 MDT
Dana Hedberg <dah@signalinteractive.com> writes:
> In my experience, most people think: psychology/psychotherapy/clinical
> psychology/psychiatrist = Freud. All of psychology is about talking with
> people concerning their mothers and sexual dysfunction. It's truly
> unfortunate that the mass cultural conception of psychology is in the
> same class as alchemists and astrologers.
Exactly. There is much good stuff in psychology, but the public
conception is right in that there are indeed some rather silly or
unscientific parts too. I have found many parts of psychotherapy to
have an epistemology that leaves much to be desired.
> For the record, psychology is a type of scientific arena with many
> sub-disciplines. Psychotherapy is a class of tools/methods used for
> intervention. Again, unfortunately, popular culture has generated the
> myth of the "shrink" as being what psychology is all about. As well,
> this meme seems to have incredible staying power and a vigorous rate of
> infection.
Perhaps as a defense reaction (the classic Freudian answer/evasion)?
I'm myself interested in cognitive therapy, although due to my normal
research I heavily lean towards the biological "everything is some
neurotransmittor's fault"-perspective :-)
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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