Fish Without Water? Subject Philosophy as Study of the Water Within Which Industrial/Organizational Psychologists Swim

Abstract

The view of a presuppositionless science has in recent years become increasingly under attack. Although the presence of presuppositions in industrial/organizational psychology and the need to study them have been acknowledged, no major attempt has been made to study these presuppositions in any systematic and comprehensive way. This article proposes that the study of such presuppositions falls within the ambit of an area called "subject philosophy." The article attempts to provide answers to two questions with reference to industrial/organizational psychology, "What is the nature of Subject Philosophy?" and "What is the task of Subject Philosophy?"