History of Psychology - The Greek Philosophers

The history of psychology is a long and arduous one that is filled with constant shifts in ideology, approach, and importance. The field of psychology today incorporates various aspects of the history of psychology into its wide array of subfields, however, the importance of this history can sometimes be “lost in translation” so to speak. Even so, this blog article will be a short review of the history of psychology and its major milestones (and when I say short, I mean comparatively since the history of psychology is much too large to include all of it in a blog).

Psychology, as we know it today, had its beginning with the early Greek philosophers as an attempt to understand the nature of being. Earlier attempts to explain the state of existence that we all experience included magic, Greek religion, animism (looking at everything as having life) and anthropomorphism (applying human attributes to inanimate objects such as a mountain being angry). These “supernatural” explanations were eventually replaced, or at least challenged, by “natural” explanations (or attempts at natural explanations) by Greek philosophers. Listed below are notable figures, in a logical order, and their contributions to the natural explanation approach.

Thales

Originator of the natural explanation approach. He thought all things consisted of natural substances and were influenced by natural things, not any supernatural forces. Thales focused on the substance that was the basis for everything else, which he called the physis.

Anaximander

Thought the physis was water, and developed a very basic (like stone age basic) concept of evolution.

Heraclitus

Physis was fire to Heraclitus, as fire transforms things into other things (wood to ash, etc.). He developed the idea of constant change in the world, nothing remains the same.

Parmenides

Believed all change was fake and illusory. Knowledge, to Parmenides, was obtained only through rational thought.

Pythagoras

(Yes that Pythagoras, as in Pythagorean theorem) Believed that everything could be broken down and understood through mathematical relationships. He saw harmony within the world, and any problems were a result of an imbalance. Followers of Pythagoras had major views on medicine, women’s rights, and rights of a slaves in Greece.

Hippocrates

The father of medicine in some viewpoints. Hippocrates said that all things were the result of natural phenomena.

Sophists

Sophists believed that truth was relative (a major concept in many fields of modern psychology) and that knowledge was constructed from what was accepted rather than what was valid.

Socrates

Socrates introduced the inductive reasoning method.

Plato

• Theory of form- Every physical thing has a true abstract form
• Divided line- The only way to obtain true knowledge about the true form is through rational thought
• Allegory of the Cave- Rational thought will prevail and make an individual successful.

Aristotle

• Causation- To understand something, we must know four things: the material cause (whats it made of, e.g. a marble statue is made of marble), Formal cause (the form, or pattern, of the thing), Efficient cause (the force that turns matter from one form to another), and the Final cause (purpose for which something exists, meaning its intended function).
• The hierarchy of souls- Three types of souls: Vegetative soul, allowing only for growth, food, and reproduction (plants), Sensitive soul possessed by animals (allows response to the environment in addition to the previous functions), and the Rational soul for humanity (allows thinking and rational thought).
• Sensation- The five senses are important in understanding the world.
• Reasoning- Sensory information (which is an isolated experience), followed by common sense (which synthesizes the sensory information), leading to passive reason (utilizing that synthesized information in daily life), ending with active reason (formation of abstract principles).

Aristotle saw memory and recall as an experience following from sensory perception. Remembering was spontaneous while recall was active and intentional.

Aristotle also pondered happiness and motivation. According to Aristotle, happiness and a good life can be obtained by living via the "Golden Mean," which is life lived in moderation, which requires rational control over one's desires.

The information I have presented is just a snapshot of the history of psychology as a whole, and even still just a snapshot of the early Greek philosophers. More articles on the further history of psychology including romanticism, rationalism, and physiology will be coming shortly.

References

Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An Introduction to the History of Psychology (6th ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.