Section 1.2 Origins of Psychology
Section 1.2 Origins of Psychology
When trying to look at Psychology’s roots, you can look back more than 2000 years to find its origins. Since Ancient Greece, philosophers such as Socrates and Plato discussed many of the questions that today’s psychologists are still trying to answer. They were believers that our mind is separate from our body and that knowledge is innate (born within).One of their students, Aristotle had differing views from his mentors; he believed that the mind and body are intertwined and that we gain knowledge from learning. These are similar questions asked today; instead the question has been shortened to a question of “Nature versus Nurture”. The ideas of the Ancient Greeks were not challenged again until the 16th Century when Rene Descartes (French) and John Locke (England) wrestled with the argument of Nature vs. Nurture once more. Locke’s “White Paper” is famous for its idea that we are born as a blank slate (tabula rasa) and that we are products of our environment.
Psychology, in its present form began in Germany during the 19th Century. From Wilhelm Wundt’s first laboratory in Leipzig, Germany to Stanley Hall’s first laboratory in the United States, Psychology has evolved into a science that has many differing viewpoints. Today, although many Psychologists still follow a particular model (i.e. Cognitive, Biological, or Evolutionary), a new biopsychosocial model has evolved to encompass the many differing views on human behaviour and mental processes.
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