In Conclusion

The psychologist no less than the writer of fiction is engaged in the literary process of rendering the human mind both interesting and intelligible. By focusing on the character of these problems and the means by which they are solved within the human sciences, the traditional privilege of objectivity accorded to the scientist is threatened. However, this is not to argue toward the end of psychological inquiry. Simply because psychological accounts are rhetorically fashioned, essentially creating their subject matter, is no reason for abandonment. As I have argued elsewhere (Gergen, 1994), psychological terms are essential constituents of cultural practices. Without the vocabulary of intention, emotion, reason, hope, and so on, cultural life would be radically altered; most of what we hold dear in our traditions would be lost. Further, psychology is that unique discipline in which deliberation on this vocabulary is focal. To add to the array of cultural conceptions of mind can add to the vitality and richness of cultural life. At the same time, to carry out such deliberations without regard to the process of reification, and without careful attention to the way in which psychological discourse may be used in the society more generally, is both myopic and dangerous. We need simply ask whether the creation of several hundred categories of "mental disease" in the present century is a contribution to cultural life to appreciate the point. The present offering is made in the hope of enhancing professional consciousness of existing shortcomings and future potentials.