Catholics in Hungarian psychology: Dienes, Kornis, Schtz

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 Catholics in Hungarian psychology Dienes,
Kornis, Schütz

• Csaba Pléh pleh_at_itm.bme.hu
• Center for Cognitive Science, Budapest University
  of Technology and Economics
• and Collegium Budapest

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Different varieties of Catholics in psychology in
early 20th century

• Fear of science protection of mentalism, soul
  and armchair knowledge
• Integration of science and faith A sort of dual
  truth. Modernisation without direct overhearing
• Theoretical integrations
• functionalism and Aristotelian views
• soft intentionality thought psychology
• practical functionalism educational commitments
  

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Some specific features of Hungarian
psychologyCulture and politics related

• Central organization The Catholic tradition
• Discontinuity of tradition.
• Révész, Harkai Schiller and Kardos three
  foremost experimentalists at the philosophy
  faculty in Budapest politically motivated
  discontinuity
• Informal networks

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 Social science related

• Responsibility and "vocation" centered self image
  
• Radical reformer and populist-national
• Struggling for independence and impact
• Rivalry between disciplines
• sociology, medicine
• research and teaching
• academic and applied
•  

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  Disciplinary

• Small disciplinary community from 10 through 50
  to 2000
•  
• Closer relations between academic and applied
  fields
• Suspicions and misunderstandings around
  psychology the guru image of psychology

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Three traditions in early Hungarian psychology
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Philosophical-academic-experimental tradition and
the Catholics

• Early counterreactions against experimental
  psychology against Wundt
• Early radical reactions a follower of Spencer
• E. Posch a radical high school teacher
• motor theory of mental life adaptations not
  
• merely attitudes ((1914/15)
• political fights over his teaching rights
  

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Gyula Kornis (1885-1958) the eternal insider and
official

• Critical reactions against all radical social
  science after 1920
• Kornis a state secretary, senate leader,
  president of the Academy
• For him experimental psychology is a science
  neutral towards issues of faith
• 1917 a compiled textbook covering all of
  experimental psychology, in over 200 pages
• Not a word on issues of faith compromise
  modernization
• Series of books presenting a more Diltheyan
  flavor of understanding psychology
• All of this at the very stronghold of academic
  Catholicism, at Budapest University

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Pál (Harkai) Schiller (1908-1949), Paul von
Schiller

• Combination of philosophy and experimental work
  at Budapest philosophy faculty
• Philosophically an Aristotelian functionalism,
  like Ryle and Mercier
• The key for the unity of psychology is
  intentionality, motivation, and sign gestalts
  (Brentano, Bühler, Gestalt school)
• Experiments on animal cognition and signing

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A practical functionalist Catholic Valérie
Dienes (1879-1978)

• mathematician, philosopher, dance reformer
  (orchestrics movement. student of Raymond Duncan
  ), translator (Bergson, Locke), Catholic
  inspirationist
• early radical materialist
• several crises of faith and commitment, toward
  radicals and towards Catholicism
• the impact of Bergson

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Her psychological views

• importing French educational functionalism the
  interest of the child (Binet)
• Synthetic work on contemporary psychology (1914)
  form Pavlov to Würzburg hidden factors and
  function
• Her Bergsonian works the importance of internal
  movements, and constructive elements in mental
  life

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Antal Schütz (1880-1953), Catholic dogma and
modern psychology

• Würzburg inspired degree in experimental
  psychology
• Becomes professor of dogmatics at Budapest
  University
• illustrates the role of logic in Catholic
  psychology and alliance between dogmatism and
  hermeneutical criticism over psychology
• Dogmatism should lead, rather then dual truth

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His psychological views

• act psychology of thought
• later logical schools as related to personality
  of the investigator
• a synthesis of Aristotelian thought and
  contemporary psychology of personality,
• criticism of evolution and positivism as
  infertile and factually untenable
• irreducibility of the mind or soul
• scientific psychology was to be criticized, and a
  solid basis for this criticism to be found in
  Catholic dogma

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To summarize

• There is no unique Catholic psychology as such
• Different political moves within Catholicism find
  their place in psychology, too
• Alternative personalities and attitudes
• Some hidden intellectual features like
  Aristotelian functionalism, the interest in
  integrative aspects, unity of personality and
  science