Philosophy and History of Psychology

At first glance the volume Philosophy and History of Psychology by Elizabeth Valentine may look like just another collection of papers by a recently retired academic. In fact it is much more. It is a well-chosen selection from the work of someone who, against the pressures of her time, worked to keep open the bridge between philosophy and psychology by her research and by founding the History and Philosophy of Psychology section of the British Psychological Society and its journal. She was able to do so by being unusually well read in the recent history of both philosophy and psychology, as well as being able to contribute significantly to contemporary research in both subjects. Moreover these essays reflect her passion to make known the neglected work of early women psychologists in Britain such as Beatrice Edgell, Nellie Carey and Jessie Murray. Thus this volume is also a portrait of a person of wide intellectual sympathies and generous academic impulses who deserves to be much better known. - William Lyons, Emeritus Fellow of Trinity College Dublin and Member of the Royal Irish Academy, Ireland

Liz Valentine has been at the centre of activities in Philosophy and History of Psychology in Britain for over 30 years, and it is great boon to see so many of her key papers gathered together in this book. They show the remarkable range of her interests, from scholarly accounts of individual psychologists to lucid and provocative chapters on consciousness and the philosophy of cognitive science. - Arthur Still, Counsellor and Psychotherapist, Edinburgh, UK