History of Psychology
Psychology is known as the scientific study of mental and behavioral processes. We can trace psychology back to a time when philosophy was the main school of thought. Humans have always been intrigued by the mind and how it works. What a lot of people do not realize is that psychology evolved from ideas of the early philosophers into a science all of its own. I will start by going over the early philosophers that constituted the beginning of psychology. I will also examine the Western philosophers who largely contributed to the formation of psychology as a formal discipline. Finally, I will explore how psychology developed into a “true” science in the 19th century.
When we look back at where psychology began at, we must first look at Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (470-320 B. C.). They were the first to start questioning the mind and its processes. Socrates influenced science as a whole by creating hypotheses and then eliminating those which were not possible. One of psychology’s main processes is asking questions to learn. Plato, who was a student of Socrates, outlined three aspects of the psyche which were: reason, feeling and appetite. He also wrote about the biformity of the psyche and the connection between mind and body (Hergenhahn, 2009). Plato’s ideas were a lot like those of Freud’s notions about the id, ego and superego. Aristotle, who studied under Plato, wrote De Anima, which is considered to be the first book on the history psychology. He built on the ideas of Plato, and other philosophers, about the psyche. Though he was more interested in studying psychological phenomena in biological terms, so many consider him the first physiological psychologist (Hergenhahn, 2009).
Then in the 17th century the philosophical begins slowly to make the transition into psychological. Rene` Descartes was a rationalist, and he believed that by carefully using one’s own ability to reason that truth can emerge (Goodwin, 2008). Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and body were two separate entities that interact to form the human experience. Even today the connection between the mind and body are argued over by psychologists (Goodwin, 2008).
In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Western philosophers did groundbreaking work in areas that later came to be known as “psychology.” Thomas Hobbs (1588-1679) was considered to be the first British empiricist. Hobbs believed the origin of all thought is sensation, which consists of mental images produced by the pressure of motion of external objects (Hergenhahn, 2009). Hobbs believed that all ideas and behaviors came from experience or, more specifically, from sensory experience (Hergenhahn, 2009). John Locke was another such philosopher whose ideas and books were a big influence on psychology. Locke extended on the thoughts and ideas of Hobbs. Locke believed that the mind of a person at birth was a tabula rasa, a blank slate, upon which knowledge is imprinted through experience (Goodwin, 2008). George Berkeley (1685–1753) was another philosopher who influenced the world at that time with two of his written works; An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision (1709) and Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) (Goodwin, 2008). Berkley was known for his attack on the theories of materialism. Berkley believed that individuals can only know forthwith sensations and ideas of objects, not abstractions such as "matter". Locke and Berkley both addressed the issue of association, which became a major concept with British philosophers. Then there was David Hume (1711-1776) and David Hartley (1705-1757). Although neither developed new theories, they both made important contributions to the theory of Association.
The nineteenth century brought about people put more faith in sciences. This great belief of the sciences seemed to be paying dividends in the form of the kinds of technological innovations that eventually brought about the Industrial Revolution (Goodwin, 2008). Although psychology had already started to develop from the earlier philosopher’s theories and ideas of empiricism and associationism, the philosophers of the 19th century were more concerned with the theoretical/biological psychology. It was during this time that experimental psychology became the main way to study the mind and test their theories. Also during this time there were great strides being made in the understanding of the nervous system by people such as Francois Magendie (1783–1855) and Sir Charles Bell (1774–1842) (Goodwin, 2008). The 19th century also was the time when physiologists were advancing closer to psychology. This was the beginning of the development of physiological psychology. Hermann von Helmholtz, a German physiologist, was considered the person most responsible for constructing the “bridge” between physiology and psychology that many still use today. The 19th century was also when the first schools of thought in psychology, structuralism and functionalism, were formed. Wilhelm Wundt, who was an advocate of structuralism, also founded the first psychology lab during this time. Structuralism focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Functionalism was formed by the ideas of William James, and as a reaction to the ideas of structuralism (Hergenhahn, 2009).
Although it may have taken centuries for the science of psychology to become recognized as a true disciple worthy of its own school of thought, it is important to follow its roots back to psychologists and philosopher that started its ideas and theories. It is through these beginning ideas and theories that we have come forth with the psychology that we use today.