Psychology from the Standpoint of the Subject: Selected Writings of Klaus Holzkamp

Klaus Holzkamp (1927-1995) was the founder of German Critical Psychology, working on the fundamental renewal of academic psychology. His ideas inspired generations of young scholars dissatisfied with the socio-political function of psychology and the human sciences. Although his approach has been discussed internationally, much of his work has not previously been available in English. This selection of Holzkamp's writings provides an introduction to his psychology from the standpoint of the subject.

In Holzkamp's approach, the object of psychological research is not the individual, but the world as it is experienced and lived by the individuals in their everyday lives. This requires a change of perspective to recognize the function that the common individualistic reduction of human subjectivity and agency has for maintaining established power-relations. The concepts of social self-understanding and generalized agency play a key role in a psychology from the subjects' standpoint, as alternatives to subjection can only be realized together, and in accord, with others.


Author: Klaus Holzkamp, Andrew Boreham
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: 01/23/2013
Pages: 360
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.60w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780230577671

About the Author
KLAUS HOLZKAMP was a german psychologist and is considered the founder of critical psychology.
ERNST SCHRAUBE is Associate Professor of Psychology at Roskilde University, Denmark.
UTE OSTERKAMP is Senior Scientist of Psychology at the Free University Berlin, Germany.
ANDREW BOREHAM, Translator, is a lecturer at the Berlin School of Economics, Germany.