Hi Blaine,
I certainly do trust you, and absolutely did not worry about this being a “gotcha” question. So far, the TOK has been a place of good faith dialogue and mutual respect and I expect that to continue until I see evidence of the contrary.
Lots to unpack here, which I why I simply left it open ended 😊. But, since you asked, let me offer some reflections.
The first issue has to do with one’s philosophy of psychology and the kind and identity of the institution of Psychology. If we adopt a broad, social constructionist view of the field of what psychology is, and we embrace the idea that as an institution, Psychology (with a capital P) should let a 1000 flowers bloom (to use a term by the historian Ludy Benjamin<https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-10050-006>), then I am all for the idea and division of Black Psychology. It represents an important voice in the tapestry of voices. Of course, a problem with this is that we can now basically have a psychology of anything, but that is a separate issue than I want to tackle.
But if we adopt a more modern, natural, empirical science version of what psychology is, then the idea of Black psychology would be akin to Black physics, Black chemistry or Black biology. This is what I think the Department Heads that were referenced in the blog were potentially getting at in a perhaps insensitive way. Now, we can explore the lives of black physicists (I recommend this podcast<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKklcL1WNec> with Coleman Hughes and Neil DeGrasse Tyson, where Tyson discusses a meeting of Black physicists), but I hope that the idea of a Black science of physics would rub us all the wrong way for obvious reasons. So, that is the analogy I would draw here, and from it we can see where there might be problems. That is, clearly we want psychologists studying the unique experiences, cultures and lives of Black Americans (or whatever ethic group, as I did in for my masters thesis), and we want associations for folks to co-mingle who feel marginalized. Things get fuzzy/complicated/problematic if we differentiate Black psychology from White psychology, where the former is a different kind of science or body of knowledge or epistemology or whatever the defining features of the discipline are taken to be.
From a unified metapsychology view, the basic science of psychology should be defined as the science of mental behavior, or Mind, defined as the third dimension of behavioral complexity (or plane of existence). Human psychology is a basic scientific discipline that resides at the base of the social sciences. Basic and human psychology are no more “white” sciences than physics is a Black science in this conception.
The bottom line is that the word psychology has an almost infinite set of meanings attached to it. One of the reasons I offer and advocate for the ToK System is that it provides a conceptual language system that allows for a coherent science of psychology to emerge. This is argued to be a transcendent Cultural view; i.e., unlike claims of the more strident postmodern constructionist epistemologies, it argues that such a position on the human condition can be taken and one can do so analytically in away that steps out of the stream of socio-cultural justification. From this vantage point, the idea of Black Psychology or, for that matter, Police Psychology, is an artefact of a time when psychology was pre-paradigmatic. Now that we can obtain a full transparadigmatic view, such identities will fade and the proper foundational conception of psychology/Psychology will find is root and grow in the (metamodern) Garden of ideas 😊.
Hope this clarifies, as these are the main issues as I see them. Let me know if questions or concerns emerge.
Best,
Gregg
From: tree of knowledge system discussion <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Fowers, Blaine J
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 12:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Black Psychology?...and who has higher self-esteem in US? Blacks or Whites?
I should clarify the question I asked Gregg a moment ago. Gregg knows me, and I think trusts me, but most people on the list do not know me and might be wondering if I'm trying to do some kind of "gotcha" thing. Just to be clear, I'm not about "gotcha" at all.
The question is just part of my process of learning much more about Black psychology as a white, cisgender, 63 year old male. This blog just seems like a great opportunity to learn for many of us.
All the best,
Blaine
Blaine J. Fowers, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Educational and
Psychological Studies
Merrick 312
5202 University Dr.
Coral Gables, FL 33146
305-284-5261 (o)
305-284-3003 (f)
Frailty, Suffering, and Vice: Flourishing in the Face of Human Limitations<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.apa.org_pubs_books_4317447.aspx&d=DwMF-g&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=sBjC3j57fAolYe9uifazv8985XVC7L2QCcgZ7jbwJeA&s=nxnJwDLh9oax4m6a8rr3DRQXxkB9u--oAY2zib2AhHI&e=>
The Evolution of Ethics<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.palgrave.com_us_book_9781137344656-23otherversion-3D9781349466139&d=DwMF-g&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=sBjC3j57fAolYe9uifazv8985XVC7L2QCcgZ7jbwJeA&s=xmAiroXCYGYDb70PSsP97Ocr-IfJ04-McAMPUmdE8Fs&e=>
http://blainefowers.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__blainefowers.com&d=DwMF-g&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=sBjC3j57fAolYe9uifazv8985XVC7L2QCcgZ7jbwJeA&s=mSW8BUGv8PEHZkTw5a0NRr63cWw5PBFPjCsOypKhhNQ&e=>
________________________________
From: tree of knowledge system discussion <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> on behalf of Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 10:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Subject: Black Psychology?...and who has higher self-esteem in US? Blacks or Whites?
Here is an interesting blog that I confess to having mixed reactions to:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/black-psychology-matters/202007/why-black-psychology-matters<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fwww.psychologytoday.com-252Fus-252Fblog-252Fblack-2Dpsychology-2Dmatters-252F202007-252Fwhy-2Dblack-2Dpsychology-2Dmatters-26data-3D02-257C01-257Cbfowers-2540MIAMI.EDU-257C182ab4f3bfe94b105ae108d82d854d02-257C2a144b72f23942d48c0e6f0f17c48e33-257C0-257C1-257C637309397837606266-26sdata-3DzaYiSZMp43B-252Fc1-252Fcp9l961pGsEYwFMOcaKaQVnaUvmw-253D-26reserved-3D0&d=DwMF-g&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=sBjC3j57fAolYe9uifazv8985XVC7L2QCcgZ7jbwJeA&s=g9DO66SUvy3Gqr8C0RX-5mB7SpFQRRl8qKgQNh9PEjU&e=>
It really gets deeply at the question of “What is Psychology? What Should it Be?”
Although a bit of an aside, the blog reminds me of an interesting fact that I think should probably be better known than it is, as I learned about it during conducting research for my masters thesis. It is the fact that of all the various ethnic groups routinely studied in the US, Blacks tend to score the highest on self-esteem. Here is a 1990s<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fwww.gregghenriques.com-252Fuploads-252F2-252F4-252F3-252F6-252F24368778-252Fgender-5Fand-5Fethnic-5Fdiff-5Fbet-5Fbody-5Fand-5Fself.pdf-26data-3D02-257C01-257Cbfowers-2540MIAMI.EDU-257C182ab4f3bfe94b105ae108d82d854d02-257C2a144b72f23942d48c0e6f0f17c48e33-257C0-257C1-257C637309397837616261-26sdata-3DCHVqwlVrJTwLRXjkEtyYay6jAlqwHiYottcWUaK3QZY-253D-26reserved-3D0&d=DwMF-g&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=sBjC3j57fAolYe9uifazv8985XVC7L2QCcgZ7jbwJeA&s=wj3o_JEuny7wT6ZtnwYHPjeZF54mOE7fRX__g7fuX9c&e=> publication from my work on my masters thesis, which found this to be the case, although I was not looking for it. Here is a more recent 2010s replication<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov-252Fpmc-252Farticles-252FPMC3263756-252F-26data-3D02-257C01-257Cbfowers-2540MIAMI.EDU-257C182ab4f3bfe94b105ae108d82d854d02-257C2a144b72f23942d48c0e6f0f17c48e33-257C0-257C1-257C637309397837616261-26sdata-3DIh4PZEbqPZOPmIxaZvOToCQm8bT-252F8i4UneJjs3NCDcA-253D-26reserved-3D0&d=DwMF-g&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=sBjC3j57fAolYe9uifazv8985XVC7L2QCcgZ7jbwJeA&s=ymFpcIzvffr5cX422fJV8aZ6PacTXBXhUsCNQC_4TY8&e=>.
I would be curious to hear if folks have ideas about why this might be the case. I have some notions, but have not seen a systematic analysis that seems to make sense of all the threads.
Best,
Gregg
___________________________________________
Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Graduate Psychology
216 Johnston Hall
MSC 7401
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
(540) 568-7857 (phone)
(540) 568-4747 (fax)
Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.
Check out my Theory of Knowledge blog at Psychology Today at:
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Check out my webpage at:
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