Prolegomenon to a contemporary psychology of liberation

This prolegomenon outlines a framework for a contemporary, critical psychological theory of liberation. It is argued that recent developments in metatheory have led to problems in both form and content for theory construction in the domain of liberation. As a viable solution to the formal problem, a non-foundational 'conceptual network' is suggested. As 'knots' in this quasi-systematic network, and thus as a preliminary solution to the problem of content, three critical research programs are reconstructed to deal with different, yet complementary, aspects of power, and which are thus relevant for conceptualizing liberation: Klaus Holzkamp, representing traditional Marxism, and reconstructed in terms of participation in life conditions (labor); Jurgen Habermas, representing neo-Marxism in terms of communication (interaction); and Michel Foucault, representing post-Marxism, in terms of self-representation (aesthetics). From these reconstructions the subject's possibilities against power, essential for a psychology of liberation, are derived. Finally, it is argued that a conceptual network that strives Co cope with practical problems must entail contextualization.