History of Psych

Philosophical and Physiological Influences on the Development of Modern Psychology

Shanna Willis

Kaplan University

Professor Stebbins

What is Psychology? Psychology is the science concerned with behavior, in both human and nonhuman animals. (Apa.org) Psychology predates back to the 19th century and is rooted from early philosophy. In the history of Psychology, philosophers can be identified that relate historically to the very beginnings of psychology and newer psychology as a formal discipline. Philosophers such as John Locke, George Berkeley, and Rene Descartes are just a few who fall into this category in relation to the beginnings of psychology. Not only did the earliest emergence of psychology peak from the philosophy; modern psychology also has roots planted within physiology. This includes contributions by notable physiologists such as Ernst Weber and Hermann Von Helmholtz.

Rene Descartes was a French mathematician and philosopher who lived from 1596 to 1650. This man had a huge impact on the history of what is now modern psychology. (Schultz, 2012) Since he wasn’t the healthiest pupil during his school years, he would lie in bed until noon and let his thoughts stir; thoughts that would change a rigid view on science and psychology. He is very well known for his view on the mind and body and their control upon each other. According to Schultz this “Mind-body problem” is defined as the question of the distinction between mental and physical qualities. It was theorized, (before Descartes), that the mind had control over the body, with the body having little to know control over the mind. Descartes was quick to take a different position. His position stated that the mind still had control over the body, but the body had much more influence on the mind than it was previously thought to. Basically, Descartes said that many things such as reproduction were a process of the body, not that of the mind as previously stated.  He also theorized that the mind...