ENGLISH

Scientific Pollyannaism: From Inquisition to Positive Psychology

By Oksana Yakushko

Book information

Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
Year
2019
ISBN
3030159817, 9783030159818
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (3133872 bytes)
Pages
243\243
Topic
Psychology
Time added
2019-06-25 16:58:47
Positive PsychologyScientific Pollyannaism

Description

This book argues that the story of the orphan girl Pollyanna (namely, her strategy of playing the “glad games” to manage loss, abuse, and social prejudice) serves as a framework for critiquing historical forms of Western scientific Pollyannaism. The author examines Pollyannaism as it relates to the sciences, demonstrating how the approach has been used throughout modern Western history to enforce happiness and to criticize negative human emotional states. These efforts, carried out by scientists and popularized as scientific, focus on negating the role of the environment and on promoting varied forms of emotional control. Ultimately, the book emphasizes strategies used to compel individuals into becoming Pollyannas about science itself.

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