History of Psychology
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 1
History of Psychology
PSY/310
Lisa M. Duley
University of Phoenix
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 2
Psychology became more popular within the past century and is a fairly new revelation. It is recognized as a science. It was pointed out by Ebbinghaus that psychologists have to recognize their deep roots in philosophy; psychology’s history cannot be understood adequately without knowing something of philosophy’s history (Goodwin, p. 2, 2008). “Descartes’ time, the early seventeenth century, is known as an era of revolutionary developments in science” (Goodwin, p. 5, 2008). Modern Western philosophers such as John Locke and John Mill were impacted by the writings and philosophies. Psychology, at this point, became the science it is now recognized as.
The seventeenth century is the foundation when philosophy grew into psychology. Descartes (1686-1650) was credited to be the inspiration and father of modern philosophy, and psychology. He is most famously known and quoted for “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes, 2006). He believed that the only way to find truth is through the human’s ability to reason. Descartes refused to accept anything to be truth unless there was otherwise no reason for doubt. “The only way to get to the certainty of truth is to arrive at oneself, relying on the clear use of one’s own reasoning powers” (Goodwin, 2008, p.33). Due to his passion with the philosophy he was taught, Descartes found that nothing would be left to question in what he has learned. He was said to only believe as truth what could not be doubted and Descartes pursued to find the knowledge he could find within himself (Goodwin, 2008). Descartes was a dualist and a rationalist. He was a firm believer in that the mind and the body were two completely separate machines. His beliefs on this matter have been and are still debatable in philosophy and psychology. To this day, philosophers and psychologists are still trying to
History of Psychology
PSY/310
Lisa M. Duley
University of Phoenix
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 2
Psychology became more popular within the past century and is a fairly new revelation. It is recognized as a science. It was pointed out by Ebbinghaus that psychologists have to recognize their deep roots in philosophy; psychology’s history cannot be understood adequately without knowing something of philosophy’s history (Goodwin, p. 2, 2008). “Descartes’ time, the early seventeenth century, is known as an era of revolutionary developments in science” (Goodwin, p. 5, 2008). Modern Western philosophers such as John Locke and John Mill were impacted by the writings and philosophies. Psychology, at this point, became the science it is now recognized as.
The seventeenth century is the foundation when philosophy grew into psychology. Descartes (1686-1650) was credited to be the inspiration and father of modern philosophy, and psychology. He is most famously known and quoted for “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes, 2006). He believed that the only way to find truth is through the human’s ability to reason. Descartes refused to accept anything to be truth unless there was otherwise no reason for doubt. “The only way to get to the certainty of truth is to arrive at oneself, relying on the clear use of one’s own reasoning powers” (Goodwin, 2008, p.33). Due to his passion with the philosophy he was taught, Descartes found that nothing would be left to question in what he has learned. He was said to only believe as truth what could not be doubted and Descartes pursued to find the knowledge he could find within himself (Goodwin, 2008). Descartes was a dualist and a rationalist. He was a firm believer in that the mind and the body were two completely separate machines. His beliefs on this matter have been and are still debatable in philosophy and psychology. To this day, philosophers and psychologists are still trying to
References: Goodwin, C.J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (3rd ed.). Retrieved from https://portal.phoenix.edu/classroom/coursematerials/psy_310/20130225/OSIRIS:424533 49. Descartes, Rene (2006). A discourse on method/ by Rene Descartes [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com Mill, John S. (2008). On liberty/by John Stuart Mill [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com