Philosophical foundations of the humanistic psychologist

Abstract

From the perspective of the history of western thought, humanism is a philosophy based on the belief that the human is irreductible to other forms of life, whether material or Divine. To the extent that humanistic psychology has its roots in the humanist tradition, it shares this conviction that the human cannot be understood except in its own terms. This report will review the philosophical precedents for this perspective on the nature of human functioning, and will then consider whether or not the fruits of humanistic- psychological labor over the last 35 years have borne out the promises of its approach.