The Hartman–Allport Connection

Abstract

By the middle of the twentieth century, Gordon Allport had established himself as one of the leading voices in the field of psychology in the United States. Allport’s approach to psychology was more inclusive than the more programmatic and statistical turn that the supposed “science” of psychological investigation was taking by mid-century. He was highly engaged with the philosophical and theological arenas of inquiry that he believed help fill out what we would call today a more “holistic” view of human beings. His work was chronologically contemporary with that of Robert S. Hartman, although there is little if any direct knowledge that they were very aware of each other professionally. However, elements of their work are so mutually reinforcing that they becomes, at times, almost uncanny in their similarity and their force and conviction. There is great fascination in seeing two minds working toward the same conclusions. When this happens, the power of each individual’s statements is enhanced. Seeing the connections between Allport and Hartman reinforce the entire concept of the field of study known as axiology. Allport may have been stretching toward axiology, and in doing so stretching beyond and redefining traditional psychology in much the same way that Hartman was stretching beyond traditional philosophy and theology.