LAST OF THE MOHICANS? JAMES McCOSH AND PSYCHOLOGY "OLD" AND "NEW"

This paper addresses the history of a rhetorical tradition in psychology that made a distinct division between old and new psychology and denigrated the old. The views of James McCosh, a transitional old psychologist and Princeton's president from 1868 to 1888, are analyzed to evaluate the ster...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:History of psychology 2011-11, Vol.14 (4), p.335-355
Main Author: Rodkey, Elissa N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Experimental Psychology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
History of medicine and histology
History of Psychology
History, 19th Century
Human
Male
Psychologists
Psychology - history
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Theoretical Orientation
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Summary:This paper addresses the history of a rhetorical tradition in psychology that made a distinct division between old and new psychology and denigrated the old. The views of James McCosh, a transitional old psychologist and Princeton's president from 1868 to 1888, are analyzed to evaluate the stereotypical view of old psychology as antiscience and dogmatic. The evidence of James McCosh's writings and his actions while president of Princeton suggest the need for a more nuanced interpretation of the relationship between the old and the new. While McCosh did not share the new psychologists' valuation of experimental psychology, this was because of a disagreement over the correct methods of science, not a rejection of science itself. Therefore, the negative view of old psychology is better understood as a rhetorical strategy on the part of new psychologists who had professional reasons to distance themselves from their old psychology heritage.
ISSN:1093-4510
1939-0610
DOI:10.1037/a0022815