After reading, The Introduction to the Science of Mental Health, written by Fr. Chad Ripperger, one would have to ask, “is any work written in the field of psychology that is as significant?”  This work reestablishes psychology as a valid science by rightly identifying its place as a subalternate science and then considers the ontological principles upon which psychology depends. 

“A subalternate science is one which is under another science but receives its principles from more than one other science. Since psychology is principally under the science of anthropology but receives principles from other sciences, is a subalternated science." 

Psychology depends upon other sciences for many of its principles.  It does not define or establish these principles but must simply take them as fact and apply them.  Thus, psychology does not define the human person, anthropology does.  Morality or ethics are defined by Moral Theology and Ethics.   Epistemology defines how man knows.  Ontology defines the nature of things such as the will, the intellect or even the passions and cognitive and behavioral activities.  The principles of reasoning that psychology utilizes are contained within Logic and Dialectics.

Aristotle established psychology as a science within the philosophy of man, and this continued until the Enlightenment and the 18^th century when John Locke and other English psychologists, while establishing an empirical approach to science, severed ties with the sciences upon which psychology was dependent for its principles.  Errors arose immediately.   They viewed man as a purely material substance and thus lost the true understanding of man as a body and soul composite.  Also lost were the principles articulating the cognitive nature of the human being, his appetites, Natural Law, Theology, Ethics, Logic, Metaphysics, etc. upon which psychology depends.  Thus, Rational or Metaphysical Psychology was virtually erased from English philosophical literature in the nineteenth century,[1] and this failure to recognize the subalternate position of psychology lead to the development of modern psychology as an invalid science. 

Scientific Validity

A valid science must know the nature of its subject matter.  Fr. Ripperger shows that modern psychology is not a valid science for it does not know its subject matter.  Animals and men are viewed being the same even though men have free will and the ability to reason.  Psychology sees man as a material organism only and though it studies the intellect it does not acknowledge man’s immaterial faculties, (two of the three parts of the intellect, i.e., the possible intellect and the agent intellect are immaterial, while the passive intellect is material.  The will is also immaterial.)  Thus, the material object (subject matter) is incomplete and leads to the formal object (point of view) and the method (mode of proceeding) to be flawed since they are based upon inaccuracy.    

The most significant proof that modern psychology is an invalid science and has failed to identify the causes of mental health and mental illness is its use of the medical model for dealing with psychopathology.  After years of TV ads for various medicines for treating the listed symptoms combined with the general attitude of the medical profession, the common opinion is that every malady is seen as a “chemical imbalance or disorder,” and the remedy is medication.   

This view of chemical or biological cause and medicinal remedy is within the medical model not the psychological model.

“The psychological method involves talking, listening and understanding the nature of the issues and factors, direction and counsel based upon the appropriate principles using logic, reasoning, deduction and induction to improve the cognitive and behavioral habits and communication skills.”  

“The object or finality of psychological counseling is mental health. Mental health consists in virtues in the various faculties, particularly the possible intellect.  Therefore, the nature of true psychological counseling is virtue counseling.   The act of counseling for a psychologist is an act of prudence insofar as he counsels the directee in actions which will lead to mental health and which will overcome or remove his mental illness.”