Prolegomenon to a contemporary psychology of liberation

Teo, Thomas (1998) Prolegomenon to a contemporary psychology of liberation. Theory and Psychology 8(4):pp. 527-547.

Abstract

This prolegomenon outlines a framework for a contemporary, critical-psychological theory of liberation. It is argued that recent developments in metatheory have lead to problems in both form and content for theory construction in the domain of liberation. As a viable solution to the formal problem, a non-foundational "conceptual network" is suggested. As "knots" in this quasi-systematic network, and thus as a preliminary solution to the problems of content, three critical research programs are reconstructed to deal with different, yet complementary aspects of power, and which are thus relevant for conceptualizing liberation: Klaus Holzkamp, representing traditional Marxism, and reconstructed in terms of participation in life conditions (labor); Jürgen Habermas, representing Neo-Marxism in terms of communication (interaction); and Michel Foucault, representing Post-Marxism, in terms of self-representation (aesthetics). From these reconstructions the subject's possibilities against power, essential for a psychology of liberation, are derived. Finally, it is argued that a conceptual network that strives to cope with practical problems must entail contextualization.