Preview

How and Why Did Psychology Develop as an Academic Discipline Essay Example

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1958 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How and Why Did Psychology Develop as an Academic Discipline Essay Example
Psychological thought has been around as early as the Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates. Psychology’s routes stem from the early academic disciplines of philosophy, physics and biology.

In the 1600s philosopher and physiologist Rene Descartes was concerned with how the mind and body worked in coalition. He then went on to write the first physiological psychology extended essay about his theory of automatic reaction. He suggested that the body could affect the mind and that the mind can create a physiological affect on the body. Rene’s physiological and psychological theorising in his work and literature became the starting point for other investing psychological phenomena.

Empiricisms rise in the 1600s from philosophers and academics John Lock, Francis Bacon and David Hume impacted on the way psychology is thought about today. They believed the study of mind should be following observational and experimental techniques.

Other Philosophical ideas that influence psychology today came from philosopher Gottfried Wilhem Leibniz (1646-1716). He suggested the theory of the ‘unconscious’ and his conception would go on to influence Freud’s psychoanalytic approach.

Physics played a huge crucial part in the development of psychology. In 1834 a physicist educated in biology, Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-1887), was appointed professor of physics at the University of Leipzig. As a lecturer and professor at the University, Fechner laid the groundwork in experimental methodology. Drawing influence from theories such as Rene Descartes he developed the relationship between mind and matter by experimenting on and writting books about visual and sensory perception. The cognitive approach today incorporates the perceptual systems and work can be found on visual constancies and the nature/nurture debate.

Fechner is regarded as having proved that psychology was an actual measureable science and as a mathematician the value of using scientific quantitative

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Mind-Body problem

    • 1454 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This concept is one of the deepest and most lasting legacies in the history of psychology. It is a crucial concept because it is through studying the history of psychology that one is able to gain perspective and a deeper understanding of modern psychology. By studying the history of this field and understanding the approaches from different philosopher’s, modern psychology can dissect previous mistakes and try to avoid them. Another benefit that comes from studying the history is the formation of new ideas that can be discovered and the natural curiosity that arises from something thought to be important (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 23).…

    • 1454 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    situation in ethic

    • 1370 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the history of psychology Charles Darwin and Rene Descartes are strongly influenced the origin of psychology. The history of psychology is rooted in three concepts philosophy, biology, and physiology. Descartes view physiology a separate mind and body, and opening the door for studies focusing on the mind. Philosophy and Psychology are known as knowledge. Philosophy cope with the nature of life and life hereafter. Psychology also deals with the study of the mind and it behavior. Philosophy also connect with the relationship of man to the supreme force responsible for the creation of life in this universe. It deals with the metaphysical life after death.…

    • 1370 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As the nineteenth century rolled in, members of psychological study started to have a more accurate understanding of the connection between the body and mind. Sigmund Freud was one such forward thinker and he promoted theories that unconscious thoughts of the mind can hold a strong influence on one’s health drawing on the original beliefs of the Greeks (Parsons, 1958).…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biological Worksheet

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The ideas of biological psychology date back to early Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato (429-348 BC). Aristotle determined there was a close relationship connecting psychological states, and physiological processes. Plato stated, “That the human ability to reason stems from the brain” (Goodwin, 2008). Galen (AD 130-200), a Greek physician and philosopher of the Roman Empire, discovered there was four parts to the brain. Although he believed the “spark” of life came from the heart (Goodwin, 2008). Theorist Rene’ Descartes, often called the father of modern philosophy, was another important person in the development of biological psychology. Descartes believed that the mind and body interacted together, but were two separate entities. Although he also believed that even though the mind and body worked together, that the body had some of its own mechanical responses to some stimuli (reflexes), that do not need intervention from the mind. Charles Darwin was one of the first scientists to make a connection for the importance of biology to the study of the mind. Although it wasn’t until the 20th century that biological psychology became the major neuroscientific discipline it is today (Pinel, 2009). Psychologist D.O. Hebb inspired…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mental Health Counseling

    • 6134 Words
    • 25 Pages

    Psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the late 1800’s; this discipline can be traced back to its earliest history of the early Greeks (Kendra). During the 17th century Rene Descartes, a French Philosopher, introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and the body were two separate entities that interact to…

    • 6134 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    (Paul F. Ballantyne, Ph.D. 2008. History and Theory of Psychology: An early 21st century student 's perspective. [Online]. Available: http://www.igs.net/~pballan/section1(210).htm [11 March 2014])…

    • 1950 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hergenhahn. B. R. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology. (6th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.…

    • 8487 Words
    • 34 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The historical development of biopsychology is traced as far back as the ancient Greek era. It became the Roman church who dictated much of the human behavior according to their religious beliefs. After the Dark Ages subsided a new way of thinking was born and this period is called the Renaissance era. With this era came new ways of studying things, ways to see things by observing them and this was how modern science was founded.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The history of psychology is in infancy at the present time. Many philosophers can be credited to the development of this science. Starting in the early 18th and 19th centuries philosophers such as Rene’ Descartes and John Locke opened the world of what we know as psychology today. The British empiricists also contributed to psychology. Some of these men include David Hume and David Hartley.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Looking back at history we can see psychologies origins developing with many early philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Buddha, Confucius, and numerous others. Psychology can trace its root all the way back through recorded history in ancient India, China, the Middle East, and Europe. Back in the day everyone had a different idea of how we learned and how our bodies connected to the mind, some thought we were born with our knowledge and others believed we gained it through previous events and our memories. All of the prescientific thinkers contributed to the development of the basic idea that our knowledge originates in experience, which is called empiricism.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psychology Paper

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In this paper I am going to be talking about the philosophy of psychology in the 19th century. I am going to be discussing the roots in early philosophy leading into the 19th century that influenced the development of modern psychology, identify 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 the science of psychology during the 19th century.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wilhelm Wundt

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Wilhelm Wundt is best described as “ a seminal figure in the emergence of psychology as a modern science” (Bringmann and Tweney, 1980). Wundt’s collected works vary over a wide range of topics including philosophy, physics, physiology and psychology. Wundt was born August 16th, 1832 in Neckarau, Germany, to a local minister and his wife. Wundt was very well educated and attended boarding school before studying medicine at Tübingen, then Heidelberg. Shortly after graduating in 1856, Wundt had the opportunity to study under J. Müller and DuBois-Reymond in Berlin. He also began his career as a lecturer in physiology. The job proved to be a failure, however Wundt would later spend the rest of his life as a teacher. In 1858, Hermann von Helmholtz was appointed the director of the Institute of Physiology in Heidelberg and Wundt was selected as his assistant. A few years later in 1862 Wundt would begin his own lectures on psychology, some of the first purely psychological courses ever offered. However, although Wundt was making progress on his psychological ideas, after failing to receive Helmholtz’s position when he retired, Wundt left Heidelberg and joined the army as a doctor.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The field of psychology emerged 130 years ago, when researchers began to directly study and observe psychological effects. The first psychological laboratory was established in Germany 1879 by Wilhelem Wundt.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The creation of psychology didn’t just happen out of nowhere. The development of psychology has taken place over the past several centuries, resulting in the creation of great psychologists, philosophers, and students of science. The behavioral process and the scientific study of the mind are known as psychology. Curios minds always wondered how to study and theorize human behavior, but it took psychologists and philosophers to study, analyze, and experiment in order to unravel things. Over the course of time the study of psychology has birthed some iconic people who dedicated their life to it.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays