PSYKOLOGINS GRÄNSARBETE OCH SANNINGSANSPRÅK En idéhistorisk diskursanalys av Psykologtidningen 2010– 2024

Abstract

This thesis examines the boundary-work between the discipline of psychology on one side and religion and spirituality on the other. In Sweden, a country viewed as one of the most secular in the world and which has a rising interest in the neo-spiritual, this boundary-work is under-researched within the history of ideas. The research question for this thesis concerns how the contemporary dominant discourses in Psykologtidningen between 2010-2024 relate to the historical boundary-work that has taken place within the discipline. In this study the boundary-work will be examined through a combination of digital text analysis and discourse analysis. The analysis shows that terms such as mindfulness and soul have gone through a decoupling process: meaning that the terms are secularized and modernized to fit within the truth-narrative and the leading discourse of psychology. This discourse falls under a larger regime of truth where secular thought is seen as the main worldview which is compatible with the scientific ideal. This ideal is based more on the natural sciences rather than the humanities. However, the analysis also reveals that there is a critique against the secular worldview as the main, or only, one being compatible with the scientific ideal.