Psychology's Roots

Much of western thought has firm roots in the thought of ancient the Ancient Greeks. This is true as much for Psychology as for the other disciplines. Greek philosophy came about as a conscious rejection of dogmatic thought by the intellectuals of the time. Where in the past truth had been drawn from myth and tradition (of which the Greeks had a myriad), these intellectuals began a new and radical train of thought that would endure through the ages; they found that truth should be found in reason and logic. This stark contrast to the enduring traditions of the Greek civilization was embraced with one arm and pushed away with the other.

While it seems a crime to reduce the Greek intellectual tradition as such, Greek thought culminated in with the teachings of two individuals; Plato and Aristotle. These colossal figures represent a great divide in philosophical thought between Platonic tradition of rationalism and Aristotelian tradition of empiricism. The Greeks did not make a distinction between philosophy and psychology, or in fact philosophy and any intellectual discipline. While no distinction was made, matters which we would now consider to be the domain of psychology were still regarded as highly important. Up until the mid 1800s psychology remained as just an aspect of philosophy, often referred to as philosophy of the mind.

During the period of the renaissance and the enlightenment arose a tendency to distinguish between disciplines: mathematics, biology, phrenology, physics, and eventually psychology. As the ever more endeavorous minds of the intellectuals of the time began to narrow their focus, there arose several traditions which culminated in the discipline we know now as psychology. In particular there are 8 trends which are considered to be the origins of the psychological tradition. First is the three psychological roots: 1. Scientific Materialism - a philosophical view positing that all of reality is made of measurable substance, 2. Associationism - the philosophical view that states are associated in one way or another by other states, say for instance in progression of consciousness, 3. Critical Empiricism - the philosophical position that knowledge is acquired through observation. Born of these philosophical roots there are also five scientific roots: 1. Physiology - the study of the operation living systems, 2. Biology - literally translates to the study of life and is concerned with the study of organisms, 3. Atomism - the reductionistic idea that all things can be broken down into their elements, and that in all cases there is an essential building element or building block, 4. Quantification - the methodology of making observable phenomena measurable and the creation of objective operational definitions for phenomena, 5. the use of Laboratories in which to perform scientific study.

From these philosophical and scientific roots arose what is commonly considered the first psychological tradition known a structuralism.