Pickering, John. “Beyond Cognitivism: Mutualism and Postmodern Psychology.” n.d. [Unpublished Paper].

Abstract

Postmodern science is shifting from mechanism toward organicism, from the metaphysics of Descartes toward those of Whitehead. However, cognitivism, which has until recently been the predominant paradigm of Western psychology, retains an implicitly Cartesian view. This is restricting the investigation of consciousness. The paper sketches an alternative paradigm, termed mutualism, that attempts to ease this restriction. Psychological inquiry needs to take fuller account of the reciprocally evolved levels of physical, biological and psychological order which support mental life and from which it has emerged. These levels interact through organic modes of causation which are essentially the interchange of meaning. Mental life and consciousness are integral parts of this interchange. Psychological inquiry into consciousness needs to recognize the special character of organic causation and to consider meaning in an ecologically realistic way. Recent critiques of cognitivism are reviewed to show a substantial overlap with mutualism. The paper concludes by considering how the postmodern condition of psychology promotes a concern with values as well as facts.