Page 9 - History of Psychology

Chapter

Psychology in 3

Ancient Rome and

Ancient Greek

Scholars argue that the birth of science in western civilization occurred when the

Greeks became thinkers changing causality from God to nature and/or the
environment. The Greeks themselves explained psychological issues through
several categories:
1. Naturalistic orientation: this orientation considered the environment to be the
key to life. Life and physical objects are inseparable so that humans are bound
to the universe.
2. Biological orientation: this orientation emphasizes the internal conditions and
human physiology as the holder of life instructions. This orientation tends to
elevate humans above the universe by emphasizing the formulation of basic
principles to explain human activity.
3. Mathematical orientation: this orientation seeks to extrapolate the material
level to general principles for all life. Pythagoras put forward the theory of the
existence of immortal entities as life givers. The life-giving element has the
functions of feeling, intuition and reasoning, the former being located in the
heart and the other in the brain.

4. Eclectic orientation: this orientation holds that a person's knowledge depends
on that person's background experience so as to prevent the discovery of
objective truth.
5. Humanistic orientation: this orientation places humanity in a higher place than
other forms of life and emphasizes various characteristics that are considered
as unique human beings, such as reasoning, language, and self-reflection.

The pinnacle of Greek philosophy was when Plato and Aristotle developed their
thinking within a comprehensive framework of human knowledge. Plato (427-347
BC) developed the concept of immaterial existence which, when translated into
human activity, Plato proposed a psychophysical dualism, namely mind and body.
Only the rational soul or mind can contemplate true knowledge, while the less
important parts of the body are limited to imperfect sensory contributions. Then
after Plato came his student, Aristotle (383-322 BC) who brought emphasis on
pure knowledge of the soul.

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