Why History Matters

This paper engages with the debate in the British Psychological Society about the place of history of psychology in the curriculum. It tries to outline an argument for thinking historical knowledge a necessary part of scientific understanding and not just optional, if sometimes useful. There are two principal reasons: some kind of historical understanding is constitutive of meaning; and there is reflexive ‘looping’ between psychological knowledge and its subject matter. A discussion of ‘perspective’ provides an accessible route into these matters. The paper, for didactic purposes, then illustrates what is at stake by bringing in the history of psychological categories. It concludes by remarking on the relationship between sensitivity to ‘perspective’ and openness to different forms of knowledge.