The concept of human nature as an enduring set of capacities and mechanisms capable upon observation and reflection of being understood and facilitated in their proper function is basic to understanding the assumptions upon which clinical psychology rests. Clinical psychology assumes there is sufficient stability in the underlying capacities of human nature to test observations, draw generalized conclusions and reliably predict behavior. This essay's aim is to make a case for the importance of articulating a normative account of human nature for clinical psychology; and then to set forth a concise account of the basic constituents and capacities of human nature. The account takes the form of a set of descriptive premises that together constitute a concise philosophical conception of the human person that the authors think can serve as a normative theoretical and abstract foundation for reasoning in the field of clinical psychology.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamsH. E., LuscherK. A., BernatJ. A. (2001). The classification of abnormal behavior: An overview, in Comprehensive handbook of psychopathology, 3rd ed.AdamsH., & SutkerP. (Eds.). New York: Kluwer Academic.
2.
BenjaminL. S. (2003). Interpersonal diagnosis and treatment of personality disorder (2nd ed.), New York: Guilford Press
3.
BerginA. E. (1980). Psychotherapy and religious values.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48, (1), 95–105.
4.
BjorklundD. F., & PellegriniA. D. (2002). The origins of human nature: Evolutionary developmental psychology.Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
5.
BowlbyJ. (1982). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1: Attachment (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books (new printing, 1999, with a foreword by Allan N. Schore; originally published in 1969).
6.
BurkeT. P. (2004). The major religions, 2nd ed.Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
7.
CassidyJ. (1999). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications.New York: Guilford.
8.
DamasioA. R. (2004). Emotions and feelings: A neurobiological perspective. In MansteadA., FrijdaN., & FishcherA. (Eds.), Feelings and emotions: The Amsterdam symposium.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp, 49–57.
9.
DeweyJ. (1951). The possibilities of human nature. In NathansonJ., & DeweyJ.: The reconstruction of the democratic life. Twentieth Century Library, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 49–81.
10.
EllisA. (2000). Can rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) be effectively used with people who have devout beliefs in God and religion?Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31(1), 29–33.
11.
EllisA. (1980). Psychotherapy and atheistic values: A response to A. E. Bergin's ‘Psychotherapy and religious values,”Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48, 5, 635–39.
12.
FinnisJ. (1992). Historical consciousness and theological foundations. Etienne Gilson Lecture Series 14, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto.
13.
GadamerH. G. (1975). Truth and method, 2nd Revised Edition. J. Weinsheimer & D. G. Marshall (Trans.). New York: Continuum, 274–85.
HabermasJ. (1992). On hermeneutics: Claim to universality (A reply to Gadamer). In Mueller-VollmerK. (Ed.), The hermeneutics reader.New York: Continuum, 293–319.
16.
KendellR. E. (1983). “DSM-III: A major advance in psychiatric nosology.” In International Perspectives on DSM-III.SpitzerR., WilliamsJ., & SkodolA. (Eds.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
17.
KleinM. (1955/1994). The psychoanalytic play technique: Its history and significance.” In ScharffD. E. (Ed.), Object relations theory and practice.Northvale: Jason Aronson.
18.
LakoffG., & JohnsonM. (1999). Philosophy in the flesh: The embodied mind and its challenge to Western thought.New York, Basic Books.
19.
LyotardJ-F. (1984). The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge.Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
20.
MillerW. R., & DelaneyH. D. (2005). Psychology as the science of human nature: Reflections and research directions.In Judeo-Christian perspectives on psychology: Human nature, motivation, and change.MillerW. R., & DelaneyH. D. (Eds.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, pp. 291–308.
21.
MillerR. B. (2004). Facing human suffering.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
22.
PetersonC., & SeligmanM.E.P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification.Washington, D.C.: APA Press and Oxford University Press.
23.
RobinsonD.N. (1997). Therapy as theory and as civics.Theory and Psychology, 7(5), 675–81.
