OK, what does it MEAN to you to have solved a problem in psychology? Are there criteria you can state succinctly? Where did those criteria come from?
If you really can't say, phlogiston will have to do. Folks were grappling with how to describe their inner experiences coherently, given all the other things they were thinking about. I'm not prepared to be snarky about how they were (or are) deluded, or ignorant, or dim.
All explanations worth their salt start out magical. Somebody, somewhere, somehow, perceives that the best data they can access or the best conversations they can find, don't make sense in some newly understood context, and makes a leap.
C On 5/16/12 4:25 PM, Jochen Fromm wrote:
It is the task of science to replace magical explanations by scientific ones, isn't it? Chemistry has replaced alchemy, astronomy has replaced astrology, neuropsychology has replaced phrenology, etc http://www.flickr.com/photos/mysticpolitics/6333162973/ I must admit I was hoping we could lure Nick back to the list from his self-chosen exile by asking some provocative questions. What would Nick say, are there any unsolved problems in psychology? Is there still any phlogiston theory in it which is waiting to be replaced? -J. ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
