Customer Reviews

Psychological Seduction

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Despite the title, this book is actually about the downfalls of modern psychology. It's critique is fairly well reasoned, and accurate in many respects. I think the author gives too little credit to many individuals who well realize the downsides of feel-good psychology, but in general many of his points are well taken. The criticism in the main is also a defense of Christianity as the more valid and useful (and true), of the two possibilities, which he sees (and makes a good arguement for seeing) as inherently incompatible. I don't agree with everything he says - largely because my own beliefs and views are substantially different from his on several points, but many of his concerns are well taken. I.e. self-esteem without grounds is merely narcissism and self-worship. Worth the time I spent reading it.

William Kirk Kilpatrick is a professor of educational psychology at Boston College. He states in the Preface to this 1983 book, "The criticisms I offer in the pages that follow are directed toward psychology as a social force: in other words, psychology as it influences our everyday ways of thinking and acting. Psychology as a science has a legitimate part to play in our society. It is another matter, however, when it wants to play every part and direct the drama as well."

Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"It is true that popular psychology shares much in common with Eastern religion; in fact, a merger is well under way. But if you're talking about Christianity, it is much truer to say that psychology and religion are competing faiths. If you seriously hold to one set of values, you will logically have to reject the other." (Pg. 14)
"True Christianity does not mix well with psychology. When you try to mix them, you often end up with a watered-down Christianity instead of a Christianized psychology." (Pg. 23)
"People will continue to behave badly, says the Christian, because human nature is twisted, and liking yourself doesn't remove the twist. But psychological theory doesn't take account of the Fall; it takes the position that there are no bad natural inclinations. As a consequence there is no reason we shouldn't accept ourselves as we are." (Pg. 37)
"The real test of a theory or way of life, however, is not whether it can relieve pain but what it says about the pain it cannot relieve. And this is where, I believe, psychology lets us down and Christianity supports us, for in psychology suffering has no meaning while in Christianity it has great meaning." (Pg. 181)