Ratiohumanistic approach of H.O. Ball: psychology of freedom and creative synthesis

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the intellectual heritage by H. Ball, the peak of his scientific creativity, expressed in the development of a ratiohumanistic approach in psychology, which represents a harmonious combination of natural and humanitarian orientations in psychology. The ratiohumanistic approach by H. Ball is considered as a conceptual framework that allows integrating different research positions within psychology, including its natural-science and humanistic orientations, and thereby overcome the notorious split into two sciences, explanatory and descriptive, and improve the quality of communications psychology with related fields of knowledge. The development of the ratiohumanistic approach and the clear identification of its methodological grounds make such communications more productive. The analysis of this approach uses the methodology of latency, aimed at understanding not only the conceptual content explicitly and indicated by the author, but also uncovering unobvious and unnoticed tendencies. Shown that the ratiohumanistic approach latently contains methodological grounds relating to modern post-nonclassical, transdisciplinary and integrative epistemology. A characteristic feature of the ratiohumanistic approach is its gestalt. Thus, the category of freedom in the rationalistic approach is not isolated, but rests and reveals its meaning in the light of the notions of culture, humanism, personal development and personal reliability.