Lexiconul psihologiei științifice în Cursul de psihologie al lui C. Rădulescu-Motru

Abstract

In his late works, such as “The Road since Structure”, Thomas Kuhn revised his view on the development of scientific knowledge, described as a succession of stages of “normal science” and “extraordinary research” leading to the replacement of one paradigm by another, and proposed a linguistic approach to the advancement of scientific knowledge based on the concepts of conceptual network and lexicon. I believe that Kuhn’s proposal can be used as a heuristic tool for understanding the process of scientific growth, including in psychology. In this regard, C. Rădulescu-Motru’s “Psychology Course” from 1923 is an exemplary case, marking the transition from speculative psychology, based on substantialist Aristotelian concepts, to an empirical psychology, based on experimental research – a program initiated by Franz Brentano and John St. Mill. This course thus crowns the Romanian philosopher’s efforts to develop a scientific lexicon and reinforce the conceptual network specific to psychology, an approach that places him in synchronicity with the Western philosophical and scientific community.

Keywords

• c. rădulescu-motru
• scientific lexicon
• speculative psychology
• empirical psychology