The Psychology of Science and the Origins of the Scientific Mind by Gregory J. Feist

Abstract

On the second floor of the National Academy of Sciences headquarters in Washington, D.C., there is a most impressive painting by Robert Van Vranken, Untitled (Where Do Thoughts Come From, Where Do They Go?). In my mind this amazing picture, a huge panorama of a scientific laboratory, encapsulates everything the psychology of science is about. The book under review could well be seen doing the same task. It is very difficult to disagree with the ambitious aim that Gregory Feist has set for this book, and that is to provide a foundation and a Tour d’Horizon for the psychology of science. One might certainly think it is just that, since this book received the William James Prize of the General Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association in 2007. Yet it is an uneven book, which in spite of its considerable contributions needs substantial improvements.