The contributors to this volume argue that psychologists and their predecessors have invariably turned to metaphor in order to articulate their descriptions, theories, and practical interventions with regard to psychological functioning. By specifying the major metaphors in the history of psychology, these contributors have offered a new key' to understanding this critically important area of human knowledge. This book describes and analyses the ways in which psychological accounts of brain functioning, consciousness, cognition, emotion, motivation, learning, and behaviour have been shaped - and are still being shaped - by the central metaphors used by contemporary psychologists and their predecessors. The volume is a stylistically and substantively coherent work of essays on a theme which has become an issue of central concern in a variety of disciplines ranging from linguistics and literary studies to cognitive science, psychology, and philosophy. Through the identification of these metaphors, the contributors to this volume have provided a remarkably useful guide to the history, current orientations, and future prospects of modern psychology.
The volume provides a remarkably useful guide to the history, current orientations, and future prospects of modern psychology.Reviews'This book can be read by psychologists, historians, philosophers, and students for great profit. Despite the complexity of the topic, it is highly engaging, well written and coherent. Regardless of one's orientation or explicit reason for perusing the volume, a reader is likely to come away from the experience not only better informed but also more attentive to and self-conscious about the use of metaphors in one's own work.' Contemporary Psychology
'The substantial empirical work presented in Metaphors in the History of Psychology will make it an indispensable source of stimulation not only for historians of science but also for theorists of metaphors who seek to explain patterns of human understanding.' Philosophical Psychology
Book InformationISBN 9780521421522
Author David E. LearyFormat Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Cambridge University PressPublisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 23mm