What N. H. Pronko's From AI to Zeitgeist can teach us about psychology, scientific explanation, and the questions we are still asking nearly four decades later.

Reading the Past, Testing the Present | Essay No. 1

In 1988, psychologist Nicholas Henry Pronko published a book that, nearly four decades later, remains remarkably relevant. From AI to Zeitgeist: A Philosophical Guide for the Skeptical Psychologist examines the philosophical assumptions underlying psychology, the theories scientists construct, and the consequences of confusing those theories with the phenomena they are intended to explain.

The first chapter, titled "AI (Artificial Intelligence)," begins with what was then an extraordinary list of technological accomplishments. Computers could play chess, process financial transactions, perform medical analyses, operate industrial equipment, and recognize patterns in biological information. Pronko acknowledged these achievements while expressing considerable skepticism about...