Ground-Breaking Innovations in General Psychology.

Area of Science:

• General Psychology
• Philosophy of Psychology

Background:

• The field of psychology faces a conceptual "crisis."
• Two recent books by Niels Engelsted and Jens Mammen propose solutions.
• These works offer distinct theoretical frameworks for understanding psychology's core issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically analyze and compare two recent contributions to General Psychology.
• To evaluate proposed solutions to the "crisis of psychology" presented by Mammen and Engelsted.
• To explore the foundational and historical approaches to defining the domain of psychology.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of two distinct theoretical approaches in psychology.
• Examination of Mammen's logical foundation based on object properties (appearance vs. existence).
• Review of Engelsted's historical journey from Aristotle to contemporary psychology to define its domain.

Main Results:

• Mammen's approach distinguishes between object appearance and object existence for a logical foundation.
• Engelsted traces the domain of psychology from early animal locomotion to consciousness, intentionality, and mind.
• Both approaches offer unique perspectives to address the "crisis of psychology."

Conclusions:

• The reviewed books provide novel frameworks for addressing fundamental issues in General Psychology.
• Mammen's logical foundation and Engelsted's historical perspective offer complementary insights.
• The integration of these approaches could advance the scientific understanding of the psyche.