Klaus Holzkamp and the rise and decline of German critical psychology

The history of German Critical Psychology focuses on the works of its most significant representative, Klaus Holzkamp (1927-1995), and reconstructs the development of his ideas, critiques, and results. For historical-systematic reasons his work is divided into a precritical period (until 1968), a critical-emancipatory period (1968-1972), a critical-conceptual period (1973-1983), and a subject-scientific period (1984-1995). Social movements and internal problems of traditional psychology are identified as factors in the rise of his psychology, whereas the decline of Critical Psychology in the 1980s and 1990s is attributed to social development, limitations of a systematic-foundational framework, and the emergence of alternative critical approaches. Despite these problems the article shows that Holzkamp is an eminent theoretical psychologist who has made significant contributions to psychological knowledge.