Commentary: Some Considerations Pertinent to the Language of Idiographic Science

The present treatise is a reflective commentary on the contribution to this volume by Valsiner and Salvatore. Consistent with their views, this commentary argues that the quest for idiographic knowledge can be reconciled with nomothetic knowledge objectives. However, questions are raised about the coherence of the concept of maximal uniqueness. It is argued that there is a need for a clear distinction between “uniqueness” and “individuality,” and that it is concern for the latter rather than the former that is central to the objectives of an idiographic science. Finally, it is reemphasized in this commentary that the individual differences paradigm for personality research really is not and has never been nomothetic in the sense intended by Windelband, and hence that the long-standing practice of referring to the traditional paradigm as nomothetic should be steadfastly opposed.