Global Psychology from Indigenous Perspectives

Visions Inspired by K. S. Yang

Louise Sundararajan, Kwang-Kuo Hwang, Kuang-Hui Yeh, Louise Sundararajan, Kwang-Kuo Hwang, Kuang-Hui Yeh

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9783030351250
• Topic: Psicologia
• Subtopic: Psicologia sociale

This volume celebrates the visions of a more equitable global psychology as inspired by the late Professor K. S. Yang, one of the founders of the indigenous psychology movement. This unprecedented international debate among leaders in the field is essential for anyone who wishes to understand the movement from within—the thinking and the vision of those who are the driving forces behind the movement. This book should appeal to scholars and students of psychology, sociology, anthropology, ethnology, philosophy of science, and postcolonial studies.

© The Author(s) 2020

L. Sundararajan et al. (eds.)Global Psychology from Indigenous PerspectivesPalgrave Studies in Indigenous Psychologyhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35125-0_1

Begin Abstract

1. Introduction

Louise Sundararajan¹ , Kwang-Kuo Hwang^{2, 3} and Kuang-Hui Yeh⁴

(1)

Rochester, NY, USA

(2)

Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

(3)

Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

(4)

Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

Louise Sundararajan (Corresponding author)

Kwang-Kuo Hwang

Email: [email protected]

Kuang-Hui Yeh

Email: [email protected]

Keywords

Global psychologyIndigenous psychologyInternational dialogueMainstream psychologyRationality

End Abstract

Professor Kuo-shu Yang (1932–2018) passed away in his sleep in the early morning of July 17, 2018.

He was a real junzi (君子), the ideal Confucian gentleman-scholar.

He was an activist who had participated in many programs of political, social, and educational reform in his youth, with significant contributions to the democratization of Taiwan.

He was a leader who had initiated several major academic movements in his midlife, with profound influence on the scientific community of both Taiwan and mainland China.

He was a scholar who had devoted all his efforts to the development of Chinese indigenous psychology (IP) that has inspired many followers in East Asia.

He was a pioneer and pathfinder in the field of IP with a vision of global psychology (GP) that is to be built on a different foundation and voice than mainstream Western psychology.

His last English publication was an article (see Appendix, Yang, 2012) addressing the historical relations of IP, Westernized psychology, indigenized psychology, imposed-etic, cross-cultural psychology, and cross-cultural quasi-indigenous psychology—culminating with the vision for a “genuine” GP.

To honor the memory of Professor Yang is, therefore, to publish a memorial volume dedicated to the pursuit of his ultimate concern—a GP that is more equitable than the current agenda based on mainstream psychology.

The Floor Plan

The purpose and intent of this volume is to create an international forum for further development of Professor Yang’s initiative. More specifically, this volume is an experiment by which we seek to demonstrate the feasibility of Professor Yang’s vision of a more equitable GP. For this purpose, we used Professor Yang’s (2012) paper to initiate an international dialogue among scholars who have high impact in the field of IP.

The content of this volume is developed along two dimensions—affective and cognitive. Along the affective dimension, cultures are lived experiences; and mentalities, lived worlds. In this dimension, Professor Yang is presented as a person or a soul whose impact was life changing or transformative. This dimension of Professor Yang is articulated in the first section of the volume, as well as in the analysis of the concluding chapter. Along the cognitive dimension, we focus on critical thinking which can set IP free from habits of thought that no longer serve the field. This is the function of the stimulating and critical debates in the second and third sections of the volume that center on Professor Yang’s (2012) article. In combination, this volume presents the appreciation for Professor Yang’s contributions to the field of IP, with a critical review of the current state of the field, along with visions for developing the GP of tomorrow.

In sum, the content and scope of this volume is wide ranging—from the heart-warming personal experiences of the students and colleagues of Professor Yang to the intellectually stimulating debates and dialogues among the scholars. At the same time, we make sure that there is enough organization to keep things from being scattered. For one thing, all the discussions share as one common thread—Professor Yang’s article of 2012, which is required reading for all contributors in sections two and three. A better sense of the structure of this volume can be gleaned from the organization of the chapters below.

Organization and Content

Part I. Introduction to Professor Yang.

Based on their own personal experiences as Professor Yang’s students or colleagues, scholars were invited to contribute to the central theme of “I remember Professor Yang.”

Synopsis. Chapter 2 by Michael Harris Bond gives an account of personal memories and knowledge about Professor Yang’s biography, thinking, and personality through long term collaborations and exchanges; Chapter 3 by Kuang-Hui Yeh outlines the major milestones in Professor Yang’s career as a pioneer in Chinese IP; Chapter 4 by Kwang-Kuo Hwang attributes the shaping factors behind his intellectual development to not only the pedagogies of, but also important disagreements with his mentor, Professor Yang. Chapter 5, by Yeh, C.-j.; Li, M. C.; Ji, L.-J.; Hsu, K.-Y.; Wang, K.; and Gabrenya, W. Jr., is a collection of anecdotes of Professor Yang’s personal life that had a transformative impact on his former colleagues and students in so many ways.

Part II. International Critique of Professor Yang’s Model of GP.

International scholars with high impact on IP were invited to critique Professor Yang’s (2012) paper, with special focus on the following questions:

1. 1.
   What do you think Professor Yang meant by “genuine” GP?
2. 2.
   Give a summary of Professor Yang’s model for GP: What are the components? What are the conditions/requirements for its implementation?
3. 3.
   Critique Professor Yang’s version of GP: Strengths, weaknesses, and ramifications for psychology as a human science.
4. 4.
   Offer your version of GP, which can be an expanded version of Professor Yang’s (in case you agree with him), a modified version of Professor Yang’s (in case you are partially in agreement with him), or a completely different version from Professor Yang’s (in case you reject his ideas).

Synopsis. Chapter 6 by Richard Shweder explains in detail the often cited but not well understood dictum of “one mind many mentalities”—along the way, Shweder poses a key question for our critical reflection of the field: What is the role of reason in IP?; Chapter 7 by Carl Martin Allwood gives a careful reading of Professor Yang’s article and raises some important questions; Chapter 8 by Dueck, Song, and Marossy calls attention to the issue of neoliberalism that hides in the Trojan horse of Western psychology; Chapter 9 by Hendricks and Moghaddam calls attention to the relevance of the global poor to IP; lastly, Chapter 10 by Teo and Afşin points out some inherent contradictions in Professor Yang’s agenda.

Part III. Critique of International Readings of Professor Yang.

Critiquing the critics, scholars who are familiar with Professor Yang’s work were invited to critique the international papers in Part II. These critiques will address the following questions:

1. 1.
   According to your understanding of Professor Yang, his vision of GP is best summed up, the least understood, or can best be complemented by whose critique, or can best be extended by whose proposal in Part II.
2. 2.
   Is there a common theme that emerges from the international reading of Professor Yang?
3. 3.
   In what way is your vision of GP similar or different from Professor Yang’s?
4. 4.
   In what way can your vision of GP contribute to the international debate on this topic?
5. 5.
   What are the issues in GP that warrant further debate?

Synopsis. Chapter 11 by James Liu offers some insights about the life and work of Professo...