History and Systems of PsychologyEssay Preview: History and Systems of PsychologyReport this essayAbstractIn this paper the philosophers that historically relate to the beginning of psychology as a discipline will be identified. The major philosophers in the western tradition whom were primarily contributors to the formation of psychology, and the development of the science of psychology during the 19th century will also be discussed.
Wilhelm Wundt, a German doctor and psychologist, was responsible for creating the worlds first psychology lab. Wundt established this lab in 1879 at the University of Leipzig in Germany, and by doing so created an academic laboratory that was dedicated to the study of experimental psychology. Wundt officially took psychology from a less disciplined part of philosophy and biology to a scientific discipline (Cherry, Kendra). William Wundt is known to be the father of psychology. He is famous for his findings on introspection, which is the experiments and reporting of the conscious inner thoughts desires and sensations. Introspection relies on thinking, reasoning, and explaining ones own thoughts. A student of Wundt, G. Stanley Hall, stated that the first experimental psychological laboratory was at John Hopkins University. Hall explored the field of Psychology and Education together with Wundt. He was known to organize psychology and education as one. The theory that Hall is known for is his theory of recapitulation. The theory explains that each person goes through changes in both the psychic and somatic senses, which follow the scale of evolution of the mind and body (Grezlik, May 1999). Another early Greek philosopher was Aristotle. If we hold truths to Aristotle beliefs we would understand fundamentally by observations or otherwise known as empirical learning. Aristotle believed in direct experience or experiments, which is when we gain knowledge by using to some degree our traditional five senses of seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting. Empirical learning is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct observations or experience, most of the time that is repeated. Psychology evolved out of philosophy and biology, which have both seen discussions of the two subjects that date as far back as the early Greek thinkers such as Aristotle and Socrates. The word “psychology” is derived from the Greek word psyche, meaning soul or mind.
Plato is one of the founding fathers of philosophy and has had a massive impact on the history of western thought (Great Thinkers A-Z, 2004, p. 1 ). Although he is not the first psychologist to be a philosopher he founded one of the earliest known organized schools in the Western Civilization. Plato used logical thinking as how things should be conceived. Plato (speaking through Socrates) divides the human race based upon their innate intelligence, strength, and courage, and those who are not overly intelligent, strong, or brave, were suited to various productive professions such as farming, smithing, building, etc. Those who are intelligent, strong, and especially courageous were suited to defensive and policing professions,
The Stoic School has its roots in Christianity. The concept of the individual as a single being is central to Christianity. However Aristotle (on St. Paul as the Apostle) and Stoic theology (along with the Stoic School) strongly identified one set of moral laws, laws of nature, and values as a foundation of ethical principles. While it is true that God (the Creator) exists, there appears to have been a time when man did not have the necessary moral lawes. He was neither wise nor a good citizen of the universe, so the laws of nature were based upon him, and there appeared to be an ongoing, ongoing conflict with God. A system of rules based on these moral laws, rules based on a god, was called the Stoic School. Stoics claimed that the universe was a collection of four laws and that all human beings are capable of acting justly to maintain the good order and order of the universe, but not to be in an eternal state of chaos, for God does not appear to exist. There was, however, a process of transition from a chaotic universe, into a chaotic existence, where men could exercise power and are considered in the divine law and all were to be protected. These beliefs were a significant part of Paul VI’S “Acts”. Stoics believed that any human being would have the necessary moral laws to uphold the good order; therefore, God, who did not appear to exist at the end of all events, would have had a duty to protect humanity, and act in order to safeguard and sustain the good order
While Stoicism emphasizes that all human beings are capable of being morally wise, courageous, and so on, it is also seen as a view of the individual as an entity that does not belong to any one individual, and that all human beings are capable of being moral beings who are willing to act for the good in these circumstances, and to follow moral laws according to these laws, and to follow these laws if necessary, without fear of conflict with God (for the Stoic philosophy of morality stands on a moral code according to which men do not believe in God as an end in themselves; the individual would still be able to choose what to do, and the individual thus would be able to take the time to act accordingly). While there are countless types of moral laws regarding human behavior, there is one very specific definition in the Church of Rome which defines every human being as having the right to choose when to act in response to moral law. Pope Leo XIII put this into writing circa 1806. According to Leo XIII, anyone who is in the position of being in the position of acting is the same as the person who chooses to act, no matter if they are living or not, and is entitled to do whatever he chooses (L. Episcopalian, A Study in the Principles of Ethics, A Study in the Teaching of the Church of Rome [ed