Psychology and the Zeitgeist

Abstract

Two books surveying the state of psychology from broad, historical, and interdisciplinary points of view are reviewed. Jerome Kagan covers the “three cultures”—natural science, social science, and the humanities—and tracks the Zeitgeist and the ebb and flow of the influence of the three cultures on the community and each other. Ash and Sturm’s book is a collaborative review of the state of psychology from the point of view of leaders in neuroscience, psychology, and the history of science. Each approach has merits, though Ash and Sturm’s has the great merit of presenting both sides of the disputes in the words of committed advocates of each view. Together, the two books offer a telling insight into the Zeitgeist of the human sciences.