Psychology in Pursuit of Justice: The Lives and Works of Emmanuel Levinas and Ignacio Martín-Baró David M. Goodman & Sherry Walling & Adam A. Ghali Published online: 11 November 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract Psychological research and theory are inherently political and social practices. As such, these authors assert that social justice must be a primary concern of the psychological sciences. In case study format, the authors use the exceptional lives and works of continental philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and social psychologist Ignacio Martín-Baró to exemplify the recognition that justice must be centrally infused into psychological thought and practice. The life and work of philosopher Levinas is characterized by a concern for how Western philosophy has funded constructs of selfhood and identity that have created moral anemia and hampered our responsibility to others. Martín-Baró, a prominent Latin American researcher and educator, found research to be a powerful tool to expose oppressive social systems and widespread deception in an effort to end unjust practices, thereby affecting social change. Biographical material and details concerning their systems of research and thought will be used to illustrate what it means to engage in morally-just research and theorizing within the field of psychology. Keywords Social justice . Levinas . Martín-Baró . Research . Ethics . Oppression . Violence Introduction Psychology’ s stance as a set of value neutral practices has come under sharp criticism (Cushman 1995; Kuhn 1996; Prilleltensky 1994; Richardson et al. 1999; Slife et al. 2005). The fact-value distinction that lay at the bedrock of psychological theories and practices has been increasingly recognized as tenuous (Taylor 1989). Psychology serves a function Pastoral Psychol (2010) 59:585–602 DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0260-4 D. M. Goodman (*) Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA e-mail: goodman.davidm@gmail.com S. Walling Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, CA, USA A. A. Ghali Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA, USA