Hans van Rappard – författare

Theoretical Issues in Psychology is published as the discipline of psychology enters its (at least) third century. The year 2001 brings with it millennial reflections, as well as the strange sense of deja vu that we derive from the Kubrick movie. As to the former, a glance at the contents list of this volume will demonstrate both the maturity and the vigour of theoretical debate within psychology. There is a level of sophistication here that should be the cause of quiet celebration. Recent ideas about discursive practice and subjectivity, chaos theory and autopoiesis, are effortlessly entrained with classical issues. Canonical texts are looked at with fresh eyes. Unresolved social and political questions are doggedly persisted with, and new perspectives on the human experience are pioneered. We are not afraid of long words, even if French in origin, but nor are we afraid to recognise that we are physical beings who touch other beings, who hold, desire, and remember - and who talk, talk, talk. For surely it is theoretically-sensitive work in psychology - whether "critical" or not - that best represents what the discipline has to offer the wider community.

Theoretical Issues in Psychology is published as the discipline of psychology enters its (at least) third century. The year 2001 brings with it millennial reflections, as well as the strange sense of deja vu that we derive from the Kubrick movie. As to the former, a glance at the contents list of this volume will demonstrate both the maturity and the vigour of theoretical debate within psychology. There is a level of sophistication here that should be the cause of quiet celebration. Recent ideas about discursive practice and subjectivity, chaos theory and autopoiesis, are effortlessly entrained with classical issues. Canonical texts are looked at with fresh eyes. Unresolved social and political questions are doggedly persisted with, and new perspectives on the human experience are pioneered. We are not afraid of long words, even if French in origin, but nor are we afraid to recognise that we are physical beings who touch other beings, who hold, desire, and remember - and who talk, talk, talk. For surely it is theoretically-sensitive work in psychology - whether "critical" or not - that best represents what the discipline has to offer the wider community.

The present volume is a continuation of Volume 8 in the Annals series. Together Volumes 8 and 9 are intended to show the contribu- tion of history to theory in psychology. The reader is referred to the Introduction by Hans Rappard and Pieter van Strien, and the Preface in Volume 8 that serve as a prelude to the papers included in both volumes. Volume 8 includes three major papers: Psychological objects, practice, and history by Kurt Danziger, with commentaries by Mitchell Ash, Franz Samelson, and John Mills; History and the psychological imagination by Irmingard Staeuble, with commentar- ies by Carl Graumann and Roger Smith; and The historical practice of theory construction by Pieter 1. van Strien, with commentaries by Helmut Luck, Kenneth Gergen, and Ian Lubek. Similarly, the present volume includes three major papers and ten commentaries. In preparation of this volume and its companion, Volume 8, we gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Valerie Welch who entered the text, and Casey Boodt who proofread the text and prepared the indexes. Leendert P. Mos and William J. Baker June, 1993 vii Contents Chapter 1. History and system ...* ...* ...1 ...Hans V Rappard Psychology as its history ...*...**...*. *...*. . 41 Daniel N. Robinson Theoretical psychology, systematology, and phenomenological variation...* ...47 . Eckart Scheerer Systematization and history...* * ...63 K. B. Madsen Towards the remarriage of theoretical psychology and psychology: Reply to commentators...67 Hans V Rappard Chapter 2.

This volume and its companion, to be published as Volume 9 in the Annals series, had their origin in a visit by the first editor to our Center in 1983, a year prior to our initiating publication of the Annals. Some three years later, Hans Rappard formally proposed to edit, together with the historian of psychology in the Netherlands, Pieter van Strien, an Annals volume devoted to history and theory. Rappard emphasized, however, that it was to be "not just a volume on the relation between history of psychology and theoretical psychology, but rather a volume on the relevance of history to theory, or psychology in general. In other words, how and what could ''doing history'' contribute to (theoretical) problems that face contemporary psychology. " Another four years passed before commitments from the twenty-seven contributors were received. The plan was to publish a single volume devoted to history and theory, however, the length of six major papers, eighteen commentaries, and replies to commentaries, necessitated a decision to publish the manuscript in two volumes. It was not an easy decision especially as the contributors and editors had achieved an integrity of theme and content that is unusual for edited volumes. Moreover, in view of the manuscript''s long past, we felt little inclination to extend its history.