Joseph F. Rychlak

Joseph Frank Rychlak ('/r//ɪ//ʃ//l//ɒ//k/; December 17, 1928 – April 16, 2013) was a psychologist well known for his work with theoretical and philosophical psychology. He developed a theoretical stance known as "Rigorous Humanism." This term refers to Rychlak's argument that psychology with ecological validity should be directed toward issues that are relevant to our lives.

Rychlak enlisted in the Army Air Force after graduating from high school and served his enlistment at Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana. During his time in the military, Rychlak realized that the best way to get ahead in life was to obtain an education. He became inspired to go to college and spent the remainder of his enlistment reading books off of the Harvard List of Great Books, preparing himself for college. He received his B. S. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and his M. A. and Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology from Ohio State University under George A. Kelly. before retiring with emeritus status as the Maude C. Clark Professor in Humanistic Psychology at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. Rychlak explains that "the responsibility of LLT (Logical Learning Theory) is to explain the process that moves sound or unsound thought along."

Rychlak's view on artificial intelligence was that it significantly lacked in comparison to human beings, specifically the aspects of human reason. Human activity and thought processes are purposeful, such as participating in the examination of thought and ideas. Rychlak stated that artificial intelligence cannot exhibit such cognitive processes, nor can they predicate meanings like a person can or apply reasoning to rules. Rychlak points out that when dealing with legal matters, free will is abundant and in fact, the Supreme Court maintained their belief on the matter "men usually intend to do what they do". Rychlak claimed that the determinism that psychology holds on to may have had a negative impact on the law. In a courtroom, a lawyer could look at an expert witness for their opinion on whether a person behaved on their own free will or if there were outside influences. This opinion is tainted by the expert witness’ denial of the existence of free will. In terms of human behavior, Rychlak believed that the courts couldn't vary from individual to individual in the way the mental health profession could. Where a psychologist can modify their view and treatment of an individual, Rychlak insists that the judicial system looks at full picture of human behavior, employing Aristotle's four causes.

Logical Learning Theory: A Human Teleology and its Empirical Support (Aug 28, 1994). Rychlak presents his logical learning theory, which was his teleological view of the human being. Introduction to Personality and Psychotherapy: A Theory Construction Approach. Rychlak outlines the history of theory and philosophy in psychology, distinguishing all theories into either Lockean, Kantian, or mixed model approaches. A Philosophy of Science for Personality Theory. This text has been a foundational work for a subfield of psychology, "theoretical psychology." The Psychology of Rigorous Humanism. Rychlak conducts a thorough review of psychology and its efficient/material causal bent. He then proposes a more formal/final causal (telic) perspective that culminates in his Logical Learning Theory for psychology. In Defense of Human Consciousness. Rychlak defies trends in psychology, sociology, and science that reduce the role of human intention in thought and behavior. Unlike the many descriptions of the human psyche that rely on behavioralist or biophysical, mechanistic views, this volume presents a model of the mind that reinforces the important role of free will in consciousness.