The article I have chosen for the discussion is “The Janus-Faced Nature of Comparative Psychology – Strength or Weakness?” written by Gordon M. Burghardt. The author examines comparative psychology by using its history as the basis of his investigation and examination. His aim is to show how comparative psychology has changed over the years and what this branch of psychology studies and represents now. Burghardt uses literary sources as the base for his investigation and examines how the history of comparative psychology has shaped it, and how it relates to other types of psychology and interacts with them. By examining the CP’s history from the research literature, Burghardt provides the reader with the strengths and weaknesses of the comparative psychology.
The author divides the article into several connected paragraphs that are all based on research literature and comparisons. Using the results of these comparisons, he provides the views of different sides that show both the author and the reader how differently comparative psychology can be perceived. I admire this approach because it does not have any particular, fixed opinion, but rather lets the reader decide how he or she should view comparative psychology. I would also like to avoid any set statements and help the reader form the understanding of the problem, as well as develop his/her own view of it, just as Burghardt does in his article.
By taking this approach, I will be able to address the issue from different points of view and ensure that my own perspective will not significantly influence the research. The complexity of the issue can be represented by different or even polar opinions, which will prove that there is no “right” perception of the problem but rather various sides of it that can have both negative and positive effects.