Good Science
In Maslow's framework, Good Science good science refers to science that is human-centered and that aims to understand the full range of human experience, including positive aspects such as creativity, love, and self-actualization, rather than focusing primarily on pathology or dysfunction. The Good science is a science of support and human potential, and not of control.
[1] It is a phrase used by Maslow in his speculations and discussion of Human Potential.
Abraham Maslow Terms
B-Cognition, B-Realm, Big Problem, D-Cognition, D-Realm, Deficiency Diseases, Eupsychia, Eupsychian Theory, Good Person, Good Science, Good Society, Good Specimen, Hierarchy of Basic Needs, Hierarchy of Cognitive Needs, Intrinsic Consciousness, Normalcy, Normative Biology, Plateau Experience, Self-Actualization, Transcending Self-Actualizers, Transhumanistic
Syncretic Terms
Components of Eupsychia
Eupsychia > Good Person, Good Science, Good Society, Good Specimen
Related LP Terms
Non-LP Related Terms
Notes
"In the light of such facts, can we seriously continue to define the goals of science as prediction and control? Almost one could say the exact opposite-at any rate, for human beings. Do we ourselves want to be predicted and predictable? Controlled and controllable? I won't go so far as to say that the question of free will must necessarily be involved here in its old and classical philosophical form. But I will say' that questions come up here and clamor for treatment which do have something to do with the subjective feeling of being free rather than determined. of choosing for oneself rather than being, externally controlled. etc. In any case. I can certainly say that descriptively healthy human beings do not like to be controlled. They prefer to feel free and to be free."[2]
Maslow critiqued the reductionist, mechanistic approaches in psychology, which he felt often ignored the richness of human experience. In his view, good science embraces holistic, integrative methods that allow for subjective experiences and personal meaning, often aligned with humanistic principles. He advocated for what he called a “humanistic science,” which values ethical considerations, personal growth, and the pursuit of higher human potential. For Maslow, good science was about capturing the depth and complexity of human life rather than reducing it to mere stimulus-response patterns or neurological processes.
"What if the organism is seen as having "biological wisdom"? If we learn to give it greater trust as autonomous. self-governing. and self-chooSinl. then clearly we as scientists. not to mention physicians. teachers. or even parents. must shift our image over to a more Taoistic one. This is the one word that I can think of that summarizes succinctly the many elements of the image of the more humanistic scientist. Taoistic means asking rather than telling. It means nonintruding. noncontrolling. It stresses noninterfering observation rather than a controlling manipulation. It is receptive and passive rather than active and forceful. It is like saying that if you 'want to learn about ducks. then you had better ask the ducks instead of telling them. So also for human children. In prescribing "what is best for them" it looks as if the best technique for finding out what is best for them is to develop techniques for getting them to tell us what is best for them."[3]
Footnotes
