Archeopsychology and the Modern Mind

This book is about archeo-psychology, the idea that the human mind can be studied from an archeological perspective. It follows that the text accepts the notion, if only as an hypothesis, that like ideas appear and re-appear to human beings over time. To be sure, they are modified by culture, and therein lies their cleverness, for they appear to be new and inventive ideas to every different time, place and culture. Their danger is that we accept them without deep thought, assuming their reality because they appear to be true a priori.

Their seeming moderness grants them a long-life, one that appears to have a genetic component, for how else can we explain the presence of longstanding ideas if culture itself is not responsible? In the absence of any convincing genetic source at this time, we are wise to examine these ideas so as to help avoid the confusion between gene and behavior that continues to muddle human thought.

I refer to the ideas as ‘mental fossils', for, like physical fossils, while at different times and places the structures appear slightly different, when properly compared, we can see the orderly shifting in design. The physical fossil record of human beings is indeed spotty, and we can expect no better when we have the courage to investigate mental fossils. Indeed, perhaps the attempt itself is more revealing than whatever tentative conclusion is found.

In our preliminary unearthing and comparing of mental fossils, we must expect the same turns of fate and disappointments as the archeologist. Some seemingly valuable finds will be judged useless; others' importance will remain masked to us, needing more information or more appropriate comparisons. There will be a tendency to find the ideas of earlier psycho-archeologists silly. We must resist such judgements, for we are all creatures of our time and place. Our findings will not be orderly: once we have found the fossils, it will be our thinking that perceives patterns. Such will not be self-evident. Above all, we must practice at suspending our judgements until the fossils are set out, for we must always be aware that we think within the constraints of whatever fossils hang about in our lifetimes, in our modes of understanding.

The title of this draft is a metaphor surrounded by another metaphor. The notion that there can be a psycho-archeology has been dormant in the study of history for at least twenty years, and it has never succeeded in attracting attention by the psychologies of our times. ‘Archeo-psychology' is used here as metaphor to hold together the narrative; yet, it is more: it is an attempt to compel the reader to see the relevance of ‘mental fossils', this yet another metaphor. The contents are, then, a meta-psychology, a commentary on what psychology is and has been as if the reader is looking from outside of it rather than from the inside.

Literal readers of this work have pointed out that there can be no mental fossils, as fossils are by definition dead and carbonized. More imaginative judges have sensed that while the phrase ‘fossil record' might be more accurate, the notion is supportable that ideas may evolve as do physical structures---complete with natural selection as the power and the transfer of its notions among people as reproductive success.

The ideas and text are offered as a gift, one whose acceptance will be accompanied by gratitude on the part of the author. I hope that having unearthed this work you will care to comment on it, to engage me with whatever notions it may produce in you. To this end, permission is granted to download and to print one copy for personal use. Your ideas may be expressed by criticism and comment directed to the author at dcandlan@bucknell.edu.

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