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Social amnesia : a critique of contemporary psychology / Russell Jacoby, with a new introduction by the author.

By: Jacoby, Russell [Author].
Publisher: New York : Routledge, 2017Description: xxxi, 191 p.ISBN: 9781560008927.Subject(s): Psychoanalysis -- History. -- PsychologyDDC classification: 150.1 Summary: "Social Amnesia" by Russell Jacoby examines how society forgets its own past and how this impacts critical and historical concepts in various fields. The book argues that societal pressure to focus on the present leads to a loss of historical and critical content, resulting in a form of social amnesia. The author critiques current practices and theories in psychology and highlights the evolution of psychological theory over the past two decades. The book's introduction emphasizes the importance of separating the political from the theoretical in any serious appraisal of any discipline, including psychology and sociology. Jacoby also notes how society has oscillated from extreme subjectivism to extreme objectivism, resulting in two forms of social amnesia: a forgetting of the past and a pseudo-historical consciousness. The book argues for "thinking against the grain" and encourages critical thinking. Jacoby's argument remains important as it challenges the status quo and encourages critical thinking. "Social Amnesia" offers insights into the impact of societal pressure on critical and historical concepts, making it an important work for sociologists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts.
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Originally published: Boston : Beacon Press, 1975.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-184) and index.

"Social Amnesia" by Russell Jacoby examines how society forgets its own past and how this impacts critical and historical concepts in various fields. The book argues that societal pressure to focus on the present leads to a loss of historical and critical content, resulting in a form of social amnesia. The author critiques current practices and theories in psychology and highlights the evolution of psychological theory over the past two decades. The book's introduction emphasizes the importance of separating the political from the theoretical in any serious appraisal of any discipline, including psychology and sociology. Jacoby also notes how society has oscillated from extreme subjectivism to extreme objectivism, resulting in two forms of social amnesia: a forgetting of the past and a pseudo-historical consciousness.

The book argues for "thinking against the grain" and encourages critical thinking. Jacoby's argument remains important as it challenges the status quo and encourages critical thinking. "Social Amnesia" offers insights into the impact of societal pressure on critical and historical concepts, making it an important work for sociologists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts.

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