A juggernaut in the philosophy of psychology: Reply to Martin, Gergen, and Held

Abstract

The demise of 20th-century positivism has breathed new life into the subject Metaphysics. But, unfortunately, Psychology's animus toward that subject continues. Martin's (2014) and Gergen's (2014) commentaries, though different in many respects, attest to Psychology's deep-rooted difficulty in shedding the subtle effects of positivism. I criticize the assumption that inquiry into language replaces metaphysics. Held's (2014) realism affords a very different commentary. In response, I correct some of my loose talk and enlarge upon reification, "levels of reality," and the concepts of emergence and causal powers. © 2014 American Psychological Association.