Den terapeutiske etos - en analyse av psykologien i senmoderniteten

Abstract

Psychology has left a profound imprint on life in late 20th century society, leading to such characterisations as ‘the age of psychology’, ‘the psychological society’, ‘therapy culture’ and ‘the therapeutic state’. Socio-economic, cultural, and political trends have shaped the methods and content of psychology, but also been shaped by a psychological ethos. However, there seems to be little awareness of these influences in mainstream psychology, contributing to a body of criticism toward psychology for having dubious cultural and political effects. Through the discussion of topics such as individualization, the transformation of the public sphere, the cultural logic of late capitalism and neo-liberalism, this paper is intended to show psychology's troubling effects. Critical psychology acknowledges the critiques relevance and tries to establish a new way of practicing psychology, sensitive to psychology’s ideological nature and powerful role in modern democracies. These attempts to come to terms with psychology's impact on public life are then measured up against the critiques strong points. Can psychology become a counter cultural, ethical science?