Jerome Kagan - An Argument for Mind [2006][A]

Book Description
Publication Date: May 2, 2006
In this elegantly written book, Jerome Kagan melds the history of the field of psychology during the past 50 years with the story of his own research efforts of the same period and an analysis of what he terms “the currently rocky romance between psychology and biology.” As Kagan unwinds his own history, he reveals the seminal events that have shaped his career and discusses how his assumptions have changed. With full appreciation for the contributions to psychology of history, philosophy, literature, and neuroscience, he approaches a wide range of fascinating topics, including:
· the abandonment of orthodox forms of behaviorism and psychoanalysis
· the forces that inspired later-twentieth-century curiosity about young children
· why B. F. Skinner chose to study psychology
· why the study of science less often ignites imaginations today
· our society’s obsession with erotic love
· the resurgence of religious fanaticism and the religious Right
Embedded in Kagan’s discussions is a rejection of the current notion that a mature neuroscience will eventually replace psychology. He argues that a complete understanding of brain is not synonymous with a full explanation of mind, and he concludes with a brief prediction of the next five decades in the field of psychology.

Editorial Review
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. A career in science resembles the psychological development of a person," writes Kagan, a distinguished psychology professor emeritus at Harvard. "A small number of early assumptions are preserved for a lifetime, a larger number are rejected, and, if chance is kind, some new ideas are added to the network that guides the next question." In this compelling academic memoir, Kagan draws on decades of his own and others' research in education and child development to challenge the assumption that early childhood experience determines adult disposition. Paying close attention to the role of cultural differences, Kagan critiques contemporary American values—rampant materialism, individualism, obsession with sexual pleasure and lack of interest in community life—yet optimistically forecasts an imminent change of values. As he reflects on past projects, Kagan illuminates the subtleties of social class in child development, children's moral development, the role of such categories as religion or ethnicity and the importance of identification with these categories. Perhaps most fascinating is his intricate discussion of his research on temperament. Written with masterly clarity and accessibility, Kagan's history of a young science and of his own contributions to it will inspire and enrich all those interested in educational and child psychology. (May).

Reviews
"This wonderful book weaves into a single strand the intellectual trajectory of a remarkable psychologist and the trajectory of his discipline over the same half century. Jerome Kagan did as much as anyone to shape the direction of psychology over that span of time, and the field, in turn, helped shape Jerome Kagan in ways he recounts with his usual combination of grace, incisiveness, and wisdom. His is a rare and special mind."—Kai Erikson, Yale University

"One of the great living psychologists today reflects back on a distinguished fifty year career probing many of psychology’s most central and thorny questions. Jerome Kagan is a scholar of unusual breadth who brings to bear his appreciation of history and context to our understanding of the unique properties of the human mind. Kagan’s penetrating analysis of mind and brain is a must read for contemporary students of both psychology and neuroscience who often fail to appreciate the constraints imposed by context on the inferences that can be drawn from experimental findings."—Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"Jerome Kagan''s book has more wisdom in it than any book I''ve read in the last few years, or maybe, more than any ever."—Robert J. Sternberg, Yale University, editor of Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid

“Written with masterly clarity and accessibility, Kagan’s history of a young science and of his own contributions to it will inspire and enrich....”—Publishers Weekly

"'In this compelling academic memoir, Kagan draws on decades of his own and others' research in education and child development to challenge the assumption that early childhood experience determines adult disposition... Written with masterly clarity and accessibility, Kagan's history of a young science and of his own contributions to it will inspire and enrich all those interested in educational and child psychology." Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

About the Author
Jerome Kagan is professor of psychology emeritus, Harvard University. He was director of the Mind/Brain/Behavior Interfaculty Initiative at Harvard and is the author of numerous books, including Birth to Maturity, published by Yale University Press.