ABSTRACT
Mainstream psychology has attempted two radically different ways to deal with this issue: In the beginning of the 20th century, positivism still held sway and psychology simply redefined itself as the science of objectively observable behaviour. This chapter discusses the Subjective knowledge is the knowledge we have of what is happening inside ourselves. It contends that a serious practice of some form of jnana-yoga is likely to offer one of the most efficient ways to develop a more comprehensive psychological understanding. One finds in Western thought a widespread tendency to conflate consciousness with its content, and this failure to distinguish consciousness from the mental processes that are taking place within it has hampered the effective development of psychology. The little of real self-knowledge that reaches our surface consciousness may never attain that level of perfection, but according to the Indian tradition this type of knowledge is in itself intrinsically true and perfect.
