Browsing by Author "Jackson, Peter Anthony"

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    The dominance of the physicalist-reductionist approach to the study of consciousness and its evolution : the case for a non-physicalist paradigm : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1992) Jackson, Peter Anthony
    In this thesis it is argued that the dominant physicalist-reductionist view in psychology has hindered the study of consciousness and its evolution. The thesis begins with an overview of the physicalist-reductionist position, from a philosophical viewpoint. The weakness of this position is exposed in that matter can be viewed not as a physical substance, but as the derivative of a non-physical realm. This is argued by using the theory of David Bohm, who postulated the existence of an implicate order (hidden from the senses) and an explicate order (the sensory realm). Bohm's reasoning is explored and justified, where his theory is shown to be the way to reconciling the difficulties faced by quantum mechanics and relativity theory. Using Bohm's implicate-explicate notion as a basis, an implicate-explicate model of the evolution of consciousness is developed. This model is able to deal with biological evolutionary factors, and not simply with the evolution of consciousness. This is because the model assumes that biological forms evolved as a result of the interaction between the implicate and explicate orders. In this model, evolution is seen as the unfolding of what lies implicate, which then becomes explicate. The earliest stages of this unfolding were automatic, and led to increasingly complex physical, chemical, then biological structures. A stage was reached where biological structures gave rise to sufficiently complex neural structures which, in turn, permitted consciousness to appear. In this model, consciousness is a very high order explicate of a special region within the implicate order, which is called Mind. Thus, the evolution of consciousness is the result of the unfolding of Mind. The model shows that consciousness is an active factor in the further evolution of biological forms. The notion of consciousness is explored and a variety of theories of consciousness are reviewed and critiqued, where these are examined in the light of the implicate-explicate model. This model is then used to explore the way consciousness evolves through the infrahuman life forms to the human form. Palaeoanthropological evidence is used to justify the claim that consciousness has evolved, with a special focus on primate evolution, and on the critical phase of transition from proto-human to truly human consciousness. In this, the acquisition of speech is seen as crucial, where the implicate-explicate model offers an explanation for this acquisition. The notion of psychological paradigms is explored, and a set of paradigms delineated, where these are located along a spectrum of the relevance of consciousness to any given paradigm. The relevance spectrum is related to the implicate-explicate model as a metaparadigm. This is used to reveal the strengths and limitations of the various paradigms. The implicate-explicate model shows that present­ day humans have reached an impasse in the evolution of their consciousness. A means to overcoming this is suggested, and the next stage in the evolution of consciousness that might arise is speculated upon.
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    The mind of a nation : a philosophical and historical critique of psychology in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Jackson, Peter Anthony
    In this thesis the development of the discipline of academic psychology in New Zealand is explored both as a history and as an intellectual framework. The key tasks of this thesis are outlined, and the problems associated with writing a history are discussed. The methodology is explained as consisting of archival research, surveying and face-to-face interviewing. There follows an examination of the intellectual development of psychology, from the time of the Ancient Greeks to the present day, where the analytical focus is the fundamental dichotomy of mind-body and, as a subset, human consciousness. This focus is important to this thesis because the researcher regards consciousness as the major variable in the evolution of psychology. Chapter three deals more specifically with the mind-body issue and consciousness, and provides an intellectual framework within which the historical developments of psychology on these shores can be considered. Chapter four deals with academic psychology in New Zealand, from its earliest times when Otago University was founded, where it was taught as a subset of philosophy, to the point at which psychology gained autonomy as an independent discipline. This exposition includes the creation and development of the University of New Zealand. In this chapter, it is shown that while psychology was first taught at Otago in 1875, it gained its freedom last of all at that university. Other factors highlighted in this chapter include the involvement of the Presbyterian Church in the development of philosophy (hence psychology) at Otago, and the turbulence of those early years there, where no less than eight professors of philosophy came and went, by comparison with only the one at Victoria College. Chapter five begins at the point at which psychology gained its independence from philosophy, which varied in time across the then four university colleges. The first department to break free was at Victoria College (1950) and the last, Otago (1964). The roles of key personalities are explored, where these are supplemented by extracts from personal interviews. The way in which courses and programmes within each department of psychology developed is also examined. In particular, the output of graduate theses (Doctoral and Masterate) are analysed, across the decades of existence of each department, in terms of subdisciplines and gender. Of interest is the finding of a marked gender reversal effect, which occurred around the late 1970s to the early 1980s, in which theses produced by female graduates outstripped those produced by males. This chapter also reports the findings of a survey of New Zealand psychology academics conducted by the researcher, using a mailed-out questionnaire. The findings include a participant profile and views on a variety of variables such as philosophical stance and theoretical orientation. The final chapter includes comparisons across the six university departments of psychology with attempts at explaining some of the key findings, a brief look at the non-university providers of psychology at the degree level, a consideration of some new directions for academic psychology in this country and, finally, a revisiting of the topic of consciousness which ran as a thread through the thesis.