Marxist psychology

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I am just wondering if anybody knows anything about Marxist psychology. It seems that he attempted to explain an awful lot about individual behavior; however, he received short shift due to his politics. His explanations of consumer behavior, and his tying into the individual's sense of self-worth seem a viable psychological theory (much as Freud did back in yesteryear). Any commentary?

-- Heather Staples (heather.staples@maine.edu), March 14, 2004

Answers

You might have a look at the chapter by Thomas Teo on Marx and Dilthey in the book he, I, and Marlene Shore edited a few years ago: The Transformation of Psychology (APA, 2001).

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), March 15, 2004.

There is a huge amount of information on this topic.

For example:

Teo, T. (2001). Karl Marx and Wilhelm Dilthey on the socio-historical conceptualization of the mind. In C. Green, M. Shore, and T. Teo (Eds.). The transformation of psychology: Influences of 19th-century philosophy, technology and natural science (pp. 195-218). Washington, DC: APA. Also available at: http://htpprints.yorku.ca/

Parker, I., & Spears, R. (Eds.). (1996). Psychology and society: Radical theory and practice. London, UK: Pluto.

Sloan, T (Ed.) (2000). Critical psychology: Voices for change. London: Macmillan.

Teo, T. (1998). Klaus Holzkamp and the rise and decline of German Critical Psychology. History of Psychology, 1 (3), 235-253. Available at: http://htpprints.yorku.ca/

Consider also L.S. Vygotsky. And see Marx's ideas on alienation.

-- thomas teo (tteo@yorku.ca), March 15, 2004.


Lawler, J. (1978). I.Q. Heritability, and Racism. New York: International.

Tolman, C.W. (1987b). The comparative psychology of A.N. Leontyev - U.S.S.R. (203-209). In E. Tobach (Ed.). Historical Perspectives and the International Status of Comparative Psychology. Hillsdale: LEA.

**above article posted at: http://www.comnet.ca/~pballan/Leontiev.htm

Tolman, C.W. (1987). Dialectical Materialism as Psychological Metatheory. (211-229). In H. Stam, T. Rogers, and K. Gergen (Eds.). The Analysis of Psychological Theories: Metatheoretical Perspectives. New York: Hemisphere Publ. Co.

Tolman, C. (1994). Psychology, Society, and Subjectivity: An Introduction to German Critical Psychology. London: Routledge.

-- Paul F. Ballantyne (pballan@comnet.ca), March 15, 2004.


You might find a glance through Daniel Burston's 'Crucible of Experience' worthwhile, as it examines quite thoroughly the progression and application of Marx and Sartre's ideas of alienation in R.D. Laing's philosophy of madness.

New Literary History 27.1 (1996) (University of Virginia) published a symposium entitled "Living Alone Together" that might also be of interest, not only the keynote paper by Tzvetan Todorov, but also others such as Burston's and Gary Saul Morson's contributions, discussed Marxist psychology in historical perspective with remarkable breadth and clarity.

-- Margreta Carr (m.carr@laingsociety.org), March 23, 2004.


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