Original scientific paper
ZIMMERMANN ON SUBJECT MATTER AND METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Ljudevit Hanžek
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Abstract
Stjepan Zimmermann dealt with the subject matter, goals, tasks and methods of psychology on multiple occasions in his work. He viewed the scientific autonomy of psychology as being closely related to the special character of its subject matter, and he believed that scientific psychology is possible only if it can be shown that its subject matter is not shared with other sciences. Zimmermann considered self-observation and experiment to be the main methods of psychology. Using the criterion of method, psychology can be divided into empirical and philosophical, and their difference is in the relation to experiential verification of their conclusions. The central part of philosophical psychology is the question of the self, or the ontological status of the conscious subject. Zimmermann commended the work of the Würzburg School of Psychology, the results of which he saw as an empirical confirmation of the philosophical claims he accepted. In this article, a more thorough explanation of Zimmermann’s claims has been provided and possible objections brought forth.
Keywords
Zimmermann; mental events; self-observation; experiment; philosophical psychology; the self
Hrčak ID:
170444
URI
Publication date:
12.12.2016.
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