Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda

The purpose of this article is to introduce Manuel DeLanda’s “assemblage theory” to psychology. Based on a select review of this theory, we argue that DeLanda’s work may allow for new ways of approaching unresolved problems in psychological inquiry, such as the realism–constructivism impasse, and di...

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Main Authors: Price-Robertson, R., Duff, Cameron
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38854
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author Price-Robertson, R.
Duff, Cameron
author_facet Price-Robertson, R.
Duff, Cameron
author_sort Price-Robertson, R.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The purpose of this article is to introduce Manuel DeLanda’s “assemblage theory” to psychology. Based on a select review of this theory, we argue that DeLanda’s work may allow for new ways of approaching unresolved problems in psychological inquiry, such as the realism–constructivism impasse, and disputes regarding linear and non-linear models of causality. DeLanda’s systematic treatment of the assemblage, using terms familiar to social scientists and analytic philosophers alike, offers a host of novel concepts and methods for the analysis of social, biological, and/or political systems, while also indicating how this analysis may be deployed in innovative social science inquiry. A number of psychologists have recently begun to explore the concept of assemblage. We add to these efforts in the present paper by assessing how DeLanda’s assemblage theory may open up a new “image of the psychological” to guide research and practice.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-388542017-09-13T14:18:23Z Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda Price-Robertson, R. Duff, Cameron The purpose of this article is to introduce Manuel DeLanda’s “assemblage theory” to psychology. Based on a select review of this theory, we argue that DeLanda’s work may allow for new ways of approaching unresolved problems in psychological inquiry, such as the realism–constructivism impasse, and disputes regarding linear and non-linear models of causality. DeLanda’s systematic treatment of the assemblage, using terms familiar to social scientists and analytic philosophers alike, offers a host of novel concepts and methods for the analysis of social, biological, and/or political systems, while also indicating how this analysis may be deployed in innovative social science inquiry. A number of psychologists have recently begun to explore the concept of assemblage. We add to these efforts in the present paper by assessing how DeLanda’s assemblage theory may open up a new “image of the psychological” to guide research and practice. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38854 10.1177/0959354315622570 unknown
spellingShingle Price-Robertson, R.
Duff, Cameron
Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda
title Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda
title_full Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda
title_fullStr Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda
title_full_unstemmed Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda
title_short Realism, materialism, and the assemblage: Thinking psychologically with Manuel DeLanda
title_sort realism, materialism, and the assemblage: thinking psychologically with manuel delanda
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38854