Psychology is the study of the human nature. Psychologist study the human mind and
behavior to figure out why people think, feel and behave the way they do. The study of psychology dates back to the
ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China and India. Psychology was a branch of philosophy until
the 1870s, when it developed as an independent scientific discipline in Germany
and the United States.
In order for a psychologist to be effective in practice they must
first study the history of psychology to get an understanding of how theories
and scientific methods were developed. Knowing the history of psychology and
seeing the parallels between arguments made now about the relative influence of
heredity and environment and comparing them with those made in earlier times,
allows the psychologist a more informed understanding of the issue (Goodwin,
2008).
I plan to discuss the roots in early philosophy leading into the
19th century that influenced the development of modern psychology by
identifying philosophers that historically relate to the beginnings of
psychology as a formal discipline, Identify major philosophers in the western
tradition that were primary contributors to the formation of psychology as a
discipline and explore the development of science of psychology during the 19th
century.
According to the Journal of Analytical Psychology Rene Descartes
is regarded as the “father of modern
philosophy”. Descartes was said to
be a key figure in instigating the scientific revolution that has been so
influential in shaping our modern world.
He has been revered and reviled in almost equal measure for this role;
on the other hand seen as liberating science from religion, on the other as
splitting soul from body and man from nature
(Withers, 2008). Rene Descartes had
the radical view of the mind as a separate and understandable entity that could
be understood through meditation and contemplation.
Philosopher Sigmund Freud distinguished science from philosophy by
classifying psychoanalysis as the philosophy of life. In the theory of
positivism, Freud rejected the notion which had been previously out forward by
other philosophers that God would die and that there were no “scientific men”
as the story of creation placed the theory.
This aspect of philosophy formed the basis of Freud’s psychoanalytic
theory where he believed that human beings were driven by two major conflicting
desires namely life drive and death drive.
In this case positivism played a great role at ensuring that all human
beings who were focused had to look up to God for survival and at the same time
live positively. Positivism is a vital
aspect in psychology as it was significant in the formulation of the discipline. (Eijk, 2005).
Wilhelm Wundt who is known to future generations as the “father of
experimental psychology” established the very first psychology laboratory where
he conducted studies on mental disorders, religious beliefs and abnormal
disorders in relations to the human brain.
It was from his studies conducted in the psychology laboratory that
Wundt was able to exert an enormous influence on the development of psychology
as a discipline (Alan, 2008).
Ralph Waldo was a major philosopher in the western tradition and a
primary contributor to the formation of psychology as a discipline especially
in the concept of transcendent where he refers to the world and man being
connected to God. From his views, man
could explore and learn almost everything he wished to through the freedom
which allowed the soul as well as nature to converge. This is a major aspect of modern psychology
where liberation of the soul and its integration with nature leads to a more
fruitful learning process (Eijk, 2005).
Another contributor to the discipline of psychology was Abraham
Maslow. Abraham Maslow was best known
for creating ‘Maslow’s hierarchy if needs”, a theory of psychological health
predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in
self-actualization. “What a man can be, he must be” is the need we call self-actualization which refers to the
desire for self- fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become
actualized in what he is potentially (About.com/Psychology, 2013). Maslow stressed the importance of focusing
on the positive qualities in people, as opposed to treating them as a “bag of
symptoms” (""Dr. Abraham Maslow, Founder of Humanistic Psychology,
Dies"," 1970). Maslow believed
that the main idea in psychology was to enable people to attain their full
potential through the establishment of beneficial relationships.
The development of the science of psychology in the 19th
century can be contributed to Wilhelm Wundt when he established the world’s
first psychology lab to conduct experimental study of self-conscious by using
scientific research methods to investigate reaction times. The classical
conditioning experiments by Ivan Pavlov were another contribution to the
development of psychology during the 19th century. The pioneer study of the human memory by
William James was also made more rampant in this century (Kroker, 2003).
After experimental psychology, other areas of specialization
such as scientific pedagogy appeared in the early 1880s led by G. Stanley Hall
and the educational theory by John Dewey was another milestone in the same era.
The very first psychological clinic was built in the 1890s by James Cattell and
it incorporated anthropometric methods which were used to test the mental
condition of the clients. Similarly, in 1898 Sigmund Freud was developing a new
approach to the study of the mind known as psychoanalysis (Eijk, 2005).
No comments:
Post a Comment