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Greek Period of Psychology BC

Greek Period of Psychology BC

In this article, I will discuss the greek period of psychology in the history of psychology. Psychology originated centuries before today. Psychology did not accidentally acquire the status of science, but existed as a branch of philosophy centuries before Jesus. 

 
The gradual and evolutionary development of psychology is as ancient and comprehensive as any other scientific science.
 
Table of Contents
It is very difficult to explain in the record why psychology originated first. The Greek record in this regard is Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus. This Greek text dates back to 3,000 BC, describing traumatic brain injury and character, and states that the brain controls all bodily movements.

Era Before Christ  or Ancient Greek Period in History of Psychology

During this period not only philosophy, logic, astronomy, chemistry, physics, arithmetic and other fine arts developed but he also played an important role in the development of psychology

This period began with the Greek thinkers and ended in the Middle Ages. During these 2,000 years, psychology has been studied as a soul, and attempts have been made to understand the relationship of the soul to the body

In fact, metaphysics was a cycle of psychology. We will mention here some of the most valuable Greek philosophers.

Cosmologists in Psychology

Thales 540-640 BC

Thales was the first Greek philosopher to find the explanation of nature in nature itself. He said that water is the ultimate reality of the world, and all other things are derived from it. He also introduced the concept of sensory threshold.

Democritus 362-460 BC

He presented the study of the universe better. According to his, the universe is a collection of atoms, these tiny particles keep moving in a very orderly manner. 

Since man is also a part of the universe, it is also a collection of atoms, including the atoms of the body and the atoms of the soul

According to his, the essence of human life depends on these atoms and the process of construction and destruction is also due to these atoms.

Heraclitus 500 BC

His theory was that fire is the basic element of the universe, but it was emphasized that the basic characteristic of fire is that it is constantly changing.

It does not contain solid and permanent elements, but its actual reality is change, and by this change, its form and form keep on changing.

Anaxagoras 428-500 BC

He was not satisfied with confining himself to the order of the elements, but according to him the form and order are also very important for the study of the universe. 

He offered ideas about the sun and the moon. According to him, there is no light in the moon but the light in it is due to the reflection of the sun.

Pythagoras 497-580 BC

Pythagoras was a non-Greek thinker who settled in Athens. He first used the word philosophy. Pythagoras was a great mathematician, he was the first to invent numbers

He argued that the universe could be best understood by numbers, so he adopted the method of knowing the information and facts of the universe quantitatively. 

Pythagoras agreed with the Greeks that the universe was made up of fire, water, earth, and air. According to his theory, man dies and is reborn in another world. 

He recognized the presence of the brain in the body and acknowledged its superiority over all parts of the body.

Empedocles 435-490 BC

According to him, the universe is a mixture of four elements, fire, water, earth, and air. According to his, due to the fluids in our body, we can see the existence of five senses. Empedocles is also known for his theory of perception.

Sophists in Psychology

Hippocrates 377-460 BC

Greek Period of Psychology BC

Hippocrates was a great Greek philosopher. He proposed the theory of human properties based on the theory of the universe

According to him, fire, water, earth, and air, which make up the universe, are found in the human body in the form of liquids, thus Hippocrates divided human temperament into four types.

1. Phlegmatic

Due to excess water in it, man becomes sluggish, lazy, and steals work.

2. Choleric

A person who has a large amount of yellow moisture will have the personality traits of enthusiasm and irritability.

3. Sanguine

A person with this temperament is very luxurious. Excess blood in the human body causes such a mood.

4. Melancholic

The bargaining power is due to the excessive amount of black moisture in the human body. Such a person is quiet, serious, and talkative.

These four fluids predominate in every person, and they cause different characteristics.

Socrates 399-469 BC

Greek Period of Psychology BC

His method is called the Socrates method. He would question his disciples with such skill that they would go from reasoning to truth, and contradictions would come to light. 

The main purpose of his teachings was to know yourself and live a happy life. The meaning of his words was to know oneself.

Socrates emphasized spiritual study. He first used the word psyche, psyche means soul, mind, or essence. He said that the truth is in every mind, the only difference is to find it. We can find the truth through knowledge.

There is so much evil in the world because people do not know about themselves. Goodness spreads only by acquiring knowledge, and goodness means the act of giving personal happiness. 

Only through knowledge we can attain self-awareness and the second name of the soul is self-awareness. The government should also be in the hands of those who have gained self-awareness.

Socrates method of question and answer was literal logic, the search for truth, the superiority of the soul and the mind, the meaninglessness of material conditions, and most importantly, there was no contradiction between Socrates' appearance and his words and deeds. 

He always spoke truthfully and bitterly without fear. The weighty words of Socrates, full of truth, shook the Athenian scholars, and science and scientific progress came to a standstill.

The youth were addicted to Socrates, he could have saved his life if he wanted to. He could have escaped from captivity, but he also exhorted his well-wishers that man should not be afraid of death but should face the truth without fear.

Due to Socrates' thoughts, he was poisoned to death. But his ideas are alive forever. Although he did not write a book himself, his promising student Plato passed his ideas to others in his book Republic

According to Plato, Socrates was the first to introduce inductive logic. Socrates was a proponent of reasoning. In order to find out what was hidden in people's minds, he used a method in which he would ask people's questions and motives and ask them questions and convince them with arguments.

Socrates not only proposed the idea of ​​the individual unconscious but also the collective unconscious. In addition, Socrates presented ideas of intelligence and will. It was as a result of Socrates' efforts that we may able to understand the inner state of man.

Plato 347-427 BC

Greek Period of Psychology BC

Plato was a promising student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. In the field of psychology, Plato made a name for himself by interpreting dreams, studying unconscious stimuli, presenting perceptions and theories of personality.

Plato proposed theory of mind-body dualism, according to which there is no connection between mind and body

For Plato, ideas are internal and have to do with the soul. While the body is involved with liquids and the superiority of the soul can be maintained only by denying the bodily desires. Plato's ideology promoted Christianity and Monasticism.

According to Plato, the structure of personality is made up of intelligence, intention or will, and desire/ appetite, or hunger, and the basis of these three characteristics is biological. 

As the torch, the biological basis of the desire for intelligence or hunger is the stomach, with these three qualities the personality is a whole. 

The balance of these three qualities produces a normal personality, while the imbalance of these qualities does not result in a person being able to adapt to the environment.

For Plato, mental development means bringing unconscious facts to consciousness. Plato believed in individual differences, he believed that every person has the abilities bestowed by nature. Based on these abilities, it has divided individuals into three professions.

According to Plato, people with higher mental abilities belong to the first category, while those with higher physical strength belong to the second category and those with the third category are those who are less physically strong and less mentally conscious. 

Similarly, according to Plato, every person is educated and assigned a job based on these abilities. This theory is called the measure of trend or attitude in modern times.

Aristotle 322-384 BC

Greek Period of Psychology BC

Aristotle was born in Macedonia, came to Athens at the age of eighteen, and became a student of Plato. Aristotle founded a new university in Athens, and taught Alexander the Great for three years. 

Aristotle wrote numerous books on ethics, history, religion, and science. Aristotle wrote many journals on philosophy and psychology. JB Watson called him the first psychologist to do a lot of work in the field of psychology.

Aristotle's book De Anima, which means On the Soul, is the first definitive book on psychology, in which he disagreed with his teacher Plato's view of the mind-body dualism

To him, the soul and the body are inseparable, and the mind is a function of bodily functions. That is why many modern psychologists call Aristotle the founder of Functionalism.

Aristotle called psychology the science of the soul. According to him, all bodily functions take place under the influence of the soul, there are three levels of the soul in psychology.
  1. The earliest form of psychology is the growth force that occurs in plants, which Aristotle called the plant soul or vegetable soul
  2. There are animals one level above the plants, which have the power of numbness as well as the sense of self, which Aristotle called the animal soul
  3. Man is the highest in which there is growth power and sensory as well as self-reasoning, which Aristotle called the rahmal soul.
According to Aristotle, the body is a material object that changes over time. The body needs food, water, sleep, and rest to meet its biological needs. These are the necessities without which it is impossible to live. He has called such needs as instinct. 

Man, whom Aristotle called the rahmal soul, learns from intelligence and knowledge. Aristotle discussed the senses and their actions and grouped the five senses, which are still called the five senses. 

In many cases, through the senses, experiences make their mark on the soul. Aristotle emphasized the importance of the effects of childhood experiences on the human psyche and the relationship between material objects and metaphors.
 
Likewise, according to Aristotle, the human soul has come into being for a specific purpose, the failure to achieve which leads to deprivation, anxiety, and worry. For Aristotle, by recognizing one's abilities and using them properly, one attains eternal happiness. 

Aristotle is also known for his social psychology. According to him, man is a social animal, he needs society to live instinctively. In addition, he needs society to develop his God-given abilities.

Expressing his views on the art of speech, Aristotle explained the importance of his attitude and motivation. It is an art to provoke people to listen to your speech. 

Psychological motivation has a special significance in modern social psychology. About 2300 years before Freud, Aristotle was aware of the importance of the psychology of catharsis

Aristotle's psychology and its effects on modern psychology have also been acknowledged by eminent scholars such as Kulpe, Ebbinghaus, and CS Myer.
 

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