rt of Dewey's 'scientific method'. Nevertheless, in psychology one can see a considerable amount of both Deweyan and Humean influence present. The whole process of observing human behavior in order to gain knowledge is very Humean. Hume would be very interested in the data that was accumulated after observing several human beings. Yet, a large part of psychology also goes directly against Hume's philosophy. In psychology one uses observations and experiences to make conclusions about human behavior, such as this behavior x indicates y. When treating a patient, a psychologist will often act as if he has certain knowledge. Hume would not agree with this. In order to prove his point, Hume would simply give examples of 'certain' psychologists that treated their patients in a particular way and later learned that their techniques were in fact doing nothing for the patient and/or maybe even harming the patient. It appears, though I am not completely sure, that Dewey had an enormous influence on the field of psychology. It just seems that everything that a psychologist goes through has something Deweyan about it. For instance, psychologists observe a problem and come up with the best possible solution to it. They do so by using Dewey's method of inquiry. First, they define the problem by observation and analysis. Then, they construct a hypothesis to explain and resolve the problem. Later, they test and retest until they come up with best possible solution for the problem. Finally, being the pragmatists that they are, they implement the solution to the problem and share their findings with the rest of the psychology world. They know that the absolute truth has not been proven but that is not their concern. When a new or better theory comes along then that theory will go through the same process and be adopted. Consequently, there is a constant feeling of innovation and progress.In summary, from Chemistry to Psychology, there ...
