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The Underread

By mixingmemory on June 28, 2006.

Jonah, over at Frontal Cortex, has a post titled "Neglected Psychologists," in which he asks:

What other great scientists of mind are modern neuroscientists neglecting?

The same could be asked of all cognitive scientists. Jonah gives two names: William James and John Dewey. If you've been reading this blog for long, you know that I'm a huge James fan, and Dewey is an excellent choice as well. In coments, I added Frederic Bartlett, whose book Remembering should be read by anyone interested in cognitive or social psychology, and Kurt Lewin, who has already been profoundly influential, but who definitely deserves a wider audience among psychologists. Lewin's Dynamic Theory of Personality is a truly amazing work. I should probably have added Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Clark probably saw that coming), whose The Structure of Behavior alone should serve as a guide for how and how not to approach the mind scientifically. It also contains a wonderful critique of behaviorism, especially in the first couple chapters, and we all know that cognitive scientists love to read a good critique of behaviorism. In this case, however, cognitive scientists today constantly risk committing the same errors that M-P saw in behaviorism. All the more reason to read it. It probably wouldn't be so bad if cognitive scientists also read Bergon's Matter and Memory, and for a completely different perspective, Norman Malcolm's Memory and Mind, or just "Memory and Representation."

So, who would you add to the list?

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History of Psychology

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