The Soul In Soulless Psychology

Modern psychology began with a rejection of the 'soul' as relevant for the science. How did that come about? The Soul in Soulless Psychology explores that question and details arguments for a soulless psychology. However, there was also opposition to this notion. This alternative history of psychology examines those who dissented from a 'psychology without a soul,' including Neoscholastic psychologists and others, such as Ladd, Münsterberg, and McDougall. Substitutions for the soul – such as self, personality, and the brain – show that even with the soul absent, its concerns were present. Innovative re-thinkings of the soul are addressed, as well as attempts at restoration of the soul into psychology. Moreover, historical psychologies of the soul kept the soul in view. In the twenty-first century, we find soul as a noun, an adjective, and a verb, all pointing to the necessity of the soul for psychology.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Foundations of Islāmic Psychology: From Classical Scholars to Contemporary Thinkers examines the history of Islāmic psychology from the Islāmic Golden age through the early 21st century, giving a thorough look into Islāmic psychology’s origins, Islāmic philosophy and theology, and key developments in Islāmic psychology. In tracing psychology from its origins in early civilisations, ancient philosophy, and religions to the modern discipline of psychology, this book integrates overarching psychological principles and ideas that have shaped the global history of Islāmic psychology. It examines the legacy of psychology from an Islāmic perspective, looking at the contributions of early Islāmic classical scholars and contemporary psychologists, and to introduce how the history of Islāmic philosophy and sciences has contributed to the development of classical and modern Islāmic psychology from its founding to the present. With each chapter covering a key thinker or moment, and also covering the globalisation of psychology, the Islāmisation of knowledge, and the decolonisation of psychology, the work critically evaluates the effects of the globalisation of psychology and its lasting impact on indigenous culture. This book aims to engage and inspire students taking undergraduate and graduate courses on Islāmic psychology, to recognise the power of history in the academic studies of Islāmic psychology, to connect history to the present and the future, and to think critically. It is also ideal reading for researchers and those undertaking continuing professional development in Islāmic psychology, psychotherapy, and counselling.

In this study of psychology and Catholicism, Kugelmann aims to provide clarity in an area filled with emotion and opinion. From the beginnings of modern psychology to the mid-1960s, this complicated relationship between science and religion is methodically investigated. Conflicts such as the boundary of 'person' versus 'soul', contested between psychology and the Church, are debated thoroughly. Kugelmann goes on to examine topics such as the role of the subconscious in explaining spiritualism and miracles; psychoanalysis and the sacrament of confession; myth and symbol in psychology and religious experience; cognition and will in psychology and in religious life; humanistic psychology as a spiritual movement. This fascinating study will be of great interest to scholars and students of both psychology and religious studies but will also appeal to all of those who have an interest in the way modern science and traditional religion coexist in our ever-changing society.

In his last years, Otto Rank turned his lifetime of thought and learning toward two of the most difficult topics in human history: religion and the soul. The result was this now-classic work, available in this new, very accessible English translation. Unlike many other intellectuals of the twentieth century, Rank maintains a place for the soul rather than dismissing it as a fantasy. The soul and the beliefs about it, he argues, set forth the foundation for psychology, with its complex analyses of consciousness, self-consciousness, and personality. Rank's commentary is not limited to beliefs about individual souls but includes ideas about group souls, sometimes encompassing nations or generations. Rank suggests that it is in expression of group beliefs that the idea of the soul attains its greatest power.