GENIUS WITHOUT THE "GREAT MAN": New Possibilities for the Historian of Psychology

The Carlylian style of history, more commonly known as the "Great Man" approach, presented the "genius" as an individual worthy of celebration: history as hero worship. This style, which characterized the first wave of the history of psychology, has gone out of historiographic fa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:History of psychology 2012-02, Vol.15 (1), p.72-83
Main Author: Ball, Laura C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carlyle
Gifted
Historiography
History of medicine and histology
History of Psychology
History, 18th Century
History, 19th Century
Human
Humans
Psychological Theory
Psychology - history
Psychology - trends
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Carlylian style of history, more commonly known as the "Great Man" approach, presented the "genius" as an individual worthy of celebration: history as hero worship. This style, which characterized the first wave of the history of psychology, has gone out of historiographic fashion. In its place is the "new history," which is marked by its external focus and privileging of social factors and cultural context in its explanations. This shift in historiographic sensibilities has also led to a revision in the appropriate subject matter for psychologist-historians. This article argues, in contrast, that it is possible to study eminent individuals without resorting to hagiography, and it presents various methods that could be used for this purpose. The aim of such an endeavor is to create a space for critically and historically informed perspectives on greatness and to suggest a reconsideration of the value of an "historical psychology."
ISSN:1093-4510
1939-0610
DOI:10.1037/a0023247