Creativity and Moral Vision in Psychology

What is the nature of knowledge and moral commitment in a postmodern age of relativism? What drives the creativity and dedication of those who are leaders in their profession? How do professional lives reflect moral identity and development? In Creativity and Moral Vision in Psychology, author Lisa T. Hoshmand invites seven contemporary psychologists to offer personal accounts of their own moral and professional development. She examines the information from interviews and autobiographical sketches for collective insights and moral vision. The purpose is to develop and apply a conceptual framework that will link knowledge interests and creativity in professional life to identity development and existential choices. By focusing on the activities and practices of a group of professionals, the author illuminates the purposes and values that inform the life commitments of those in the profession. This insightful volume is divided into three parts: Part I provides the conceptual and methodological background for the project; Part II comprises the autobiographical sketches; Part III provides a summary and analysis of the narratives expounding on the larger intellectual context in which the project can be located. The author addresses the issues surrounding epistemic and moral commitment in the postmodern age, making an attempt at the critical deconstruction of the texts involved. By integrating ideas from diverse areas of scholarship, this book offers a new understanding of the relationships among identity, creativity, and moral development for professionals and scholars in psychology, counseling, and human services.

Lisa Tsoi Hoshmand, Ph.D. is Professor of Counseling and Psychology at Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.  She is the author/editor of three books and over forty other publications.  Her recent work includes an edited book, Creativity and moral vision in Psychology: Narratives of identity and commitment in a postmodern age (Sage, 1998), an article “Narrative psychology” in the Encyclopedia of psychology (American Psychological Association and Oxford University Press, 1999/2000), the book chapter “Psychotherapy as an instrument of culture” in Critical issues in psychotherapy (Sage, 2001), and an article “Narratology, cultural psychology, and counseling research” (Journal of Counseling Psychology, in press).  She has published and presented on cultural psychology, qualitative research methodology, clinical teaching, reflective practice, and transformative education. A Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a licensed psychologist, she has served on the editorial board of a number of journals in counseling psychology, theoretical and philosophical psychology, and community psychology.