REFLECTIONS ON CERTAIN PRESUPPOSITIONS WHICH TEND TO LIMIT DIALOG BETWEEN PHILOSOPHERS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS

This paper aims to clarify certain assumptions, methods, and conclusions which have tended to divide philosophy and psychology. In order to demonstrate these differences, I have selected certain issues and developments within the philosophy of language which are relevant to behaviorism and cognitive theory. What I will demonstrate is that the assumptions, methods, and conclusions of an enquiry are often related to beliefs about the duality of the human subject. I also point out that philosophers are not unanimous about the existence of this alleged duality. Accordingly, I show that when philosophers abandon the dualistic interpretation, they also reject the idea that philosophy and psychology are fundamentally irreconcilable disciplines.