An Argument for Mind

302 Pages·2006·1.06 MB·English

by  Jerome Kagan

an argument for mind

a n
Argument
for Mind
j e r o m e k a g a n
yale university press new haven and london
Publishedwithassistancefromthefoundationestablishedinmemoryof
AmasaStoneMatheroftheClassof1907,YaleCollege.
Copyright©2006byJeromeKagan.
Allrightsreserved.
Thisbookmaynotbereproduced,inwholeorinpart,includingillustrations,inanyform
(beyondthatcopyingpermittedbySections107and108oftheU.S.CopyrightLawand
exceptbyreviewersforthepublicpress),withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublishers.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyR.R.Donnelley,Harrisonburg,Virginia.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Kagan,Jerome.
Anargumentformind/JeromeKagan.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindex.
isbn-13:978-0-300-11337-2(clothbound:alk.paper)
isbn-10:0-300-11337-4(clothbound:alk.paper)
1.Psychology—History—20thcentury.I.Title.
bf105.k342006
150.9'045—dc22 2005033441
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
Thepaperinthisbookmeetstheguidelinesforpermanenceand
durabilityoftheCommitteeonProductionGuidelinesfor
BookLongevityoftheCouncilonLibraryResources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ForSteve
Namesarenoiseandsmoke;theimportantpointistohaveaclearandade-
quateconceptionofthefactssignifiedbyaname.
—T.H.Huxley,EvolutionandEthics(1893)
Butitissignificantthatthemeaningofhistoricaleventshasfrequentlybeen
obscured,notbytherealhistorianbutbysocialscientistswhosoughtabor-
tivelytobringhistoryintotherealmsofnatureandthusdenythecharacter-
isticallyhistoricalaspectsofthehumanscene.Inshort,ourculturehasbeen
intent upon equating history with nature at the precise moment when his-
toryrevealedthedangerouspossibilitiesofhumanfreedomwhichwerenot
atalllikenature.
—ReinholdNiebuhr,Time,April25,1988
contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
one
ChoiceandIndoctrination 1
two
SettingaNewFoundation 35
three
FlirtingwithBiology 70
four
AcceptingBiologyandHistory 101
five
HumanMorality 127
six
AcknowledgingTemperament 173
seven
CelebratingMind 210
vii
eight
Coda 258
Notes 263
Index 275
viii
preface
Thisbook,likeanunplannedinfantborntoanoldercouple,wasnotsup-
posedtobewritten.Ihadnotregardedmylifeassufficientlydifferent
from, or more interesting than, other social scientists in my age cohort to
warrantapersonalnarrative.Astrollonabeachwithmyson-in-law,Steven
Reznick,inthesummerof2004putthebeeintheproverbialbonnet.When
heaskedwhatprojectIhadplannedforthefallandItoldhimthatIhadno
puzzlepressingforalengthyanalysis,hesuggestedIwriteasummaryofthe
extraordinarychangesinpsychologyoverthepasthalfcentury,arguingthat
theparadigmshiftsoverthisintervalwouldbeofgeneralinterest,especially
ifthishistorywerepartofatapestrythatcontainedtheseminalelementsof
myresearchcareer.AlthoughIrejectedhissuggestionthatafternoon,several
weekslater,onabrightSeptembermorningwithnopressingresponsibilities
beforeme,Ibegantooutlinethemanuscripthehadurged.
I had also been brooding over the comments of a friend, Robert Pozen,
whowantedmetostate,innontechnicalprose,mycurrentbeliefsaboutthe
relationofmindtobrainbecausehefeltthattheattractiontotheinfluence
ofbiologylateinmycareerwasmisunderstood.
Thisbooktriestoorchestratethreethemes—aselectivehistoryofpsychol-
ogyfrommygraduateyearstothepresent,thequestionsIputtonatureand
thereplies,andacritiqueofcontemporarysocialscience,especiallyananaly-
sisofthecurrentromancebetweenpsychologyandbiology.Iamcriticalof
a number of popular ideas in contemporary psychology. I hope that those
ix