On this episode of Mind Matters News, host Robert J. Marks interviews Dr. Eric Jones, a professor of psychology at Regent University, about the concept of the relational person. Jones contributed a chapter on the topic to the recent volume Minding the Brain. Jones explains that the dominant view in psychology is the atomistic individual, which sees individuals as self-contained entities striving for independence. However, Jones argues for a relational view of the person, which sees individuals as part of an interdependent system. He uses the analogy of a hand to illustrate this, explaining that a hand cannot function independently from the rest of the body. Jones also discusses the influence of social connections on behavior, citing the Milgram experiment as an example. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the ontological nature of the relational person and how it shapes social thought and behavior.

Additional Resources

• Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science
• Professor Eric Jones at Regent University
• Contact Professor Eric Jones at ejones@regent.edu