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[Objectivity and subjectivity of knowledge in nomological social sciences]
1Institut für Klinische Psychotherapie, Universität Homburg/Saar.
Zeitschrift Fur Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychoanalyse
|January 1, 1995
Summary
This study questions the objectivity of psychoanalytic insights in social sciences. It argues that nomological research methods cannot verify hypotheses and that findings are influenced by researchers' own unconscious biases.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Psychoanalysis
- Research Methodology
Background:
- The nomological approach in social sciences demands "objectification" for psychoanalytic insights.
- Understanding human behavior through psychoanalysis faces methodological challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the applicability of "objectification" in nomological social sciences for psychoanalytic insights.
- To critically assess the verifiability of hypotheses in psychoanalytic research.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of nomological and psychoanalytic methodologies.
- Exploration of the implications of empirical scientific processes for psychoanalytic social psychology.
Main Results:
- Verification or falsification of hypotheses is fundamentally impossible within the nomological framework.
- Psychoanalytically gained insights from nomological research are products of "neurotic-blind" interactions.
Conclusions:
- The value of knowledge from nomological research in psychoanalysis is questionable without psychoanalytic clarification of the research practice.
- Researchers must address their own unconscious biases to ensure the validity of psychoanalytic insights.
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