Ethics and Psychology: Beyond Codes of Practice

This highly original book explores the idea and potential of psychology in the context of ethical theory, and the idea of ethics in the context of psychology. In so doing, it not only interrogates how we come to understand ethics and notions of right behaviour, but also questions the discipline of psychology and how it functions in the 21st century. Neill turns psychology inside out, controversially suggesting that psychology no longer exists as we know it. He proposes a rebirth of psychology based on an intricate and detailed examination of who we really are, and how we come to structure this idea of ourselves. Taking the idea of ethics seriously, Neill allows us to see psychology in a totally new light, addressing key points, such as:

The inadequacy of psychology to address the question of ethics throughout history.

Why thinking through the question of ethics necessarily brings us into confrontation with a question of psychology.

What we actually do when we do psychology and how, via a serious consideration of ethics we might do this differently and better.

Ethics and Psychology presents readers with a new and potentially productive understanding of both ethics and psychology and will appeal to anyone active within and critically engaged with the field.