PowerPoint 1.1 - Early Greek/Pre-Scientific Psychology (8-17-17)
What did Hippocrates discover that is beneficial today?
the "powers" of the Willow tree (Aspirin)
Who quoted: "Know Theyself" and was charged with corrupting the youth, who later died after drinking Hemlock tea?
Socrates
What three disciplines is psychology from?
philosophy, medicine, and religion
Socrates (469 - 399 BC)
- "The unexamined life is not worth living" - strongly influenced by Pythagorians and was obsessed with perfection and math - "Let no one ignorant of geometry here" (entrance into academy) - soldier in Pelponessian War - believed that reasoning is more important than sensory based perception
Pythagoras (580 - 500 BC)
- first philosopher with earliest records - mathematician/philosopher - scientific laws were expressed as equations (assumed to be valid) - philosophy: numbers are the truth - sought natural explanations for order in the universe
Hippocrates (460 - 370 BC)
- first to coin a modern theory of disease (epilepsy) - took the study of medicine from "magic and superstition" to a science - tried to come up with logical cause of sacred disease (epilepsy); may have had due to expressed concern - "The brain is an important organ of the body" - "The body has the power to heal itself"
Anaximander (610 - 547 BC)
- first to conclude that humans came from other species - constructed first map of the world and sun dial - "From water and earth came then fishes... out of fish came the humans"
Democritus (460 - 370 BC)
- first to mention atomic theory - string theory (Grand Unified Theory) - the mind and soul had atoms - physicial atoms were to the natural world, as soul atoms were to behavior
Plato (427 - 347 BC)
- witnessed devastation of Pelponessian War - believed that thinking rather than observation is the primary way in which we learn (senses are imperfect, and thinking/rationale is perfect) - believed in Nativism (Nature)
Plato believed that we were all born with knowledge. What are the 3 types of humans by inheritance that Plato believed?
1. Appetitive (workers and slaves) 2. Courage (soldiers) 3. Rational (leaders of societies, kings, philosophers)
Hippocrates expressed that there were 4 Humors, and an individual's poor health was caused by an imbalance in them. What are they?
1. Sangrene (Blood) 2. Phlegm (Mucus) 3. Choler (Yellow bile) 4. Melancholer (Black bile)
The humors were believed to contribute to individual differences in personality. How?
1. Sangrene (blood) - high spirited/lively 2. Phlegm (Mucus) - sluggish, lazy, lethargic 3. Choler (Yellow bile) - irritable (choleric) 4. Melancholer (Black bile) - sad (melancholic)
Psychology began roughly in the ____'s?
1860
Wat does the history of psychology begin with (around 600 BC)?
Greek philosophy
Who had the most impact on psychology due to his theory being scientific and medical?
Hippocrates
Soul atoms were smaller and livelier than physical atoms, and both differed a lot. Why?
The brain is made up of physical atoms; therefore, you can hold the brain in your hand. The mind is made up of soul atoms; therefore, you cannot hold the mind.
Psychology is shaped by what?
ideas, theories, assumptions, opinions, and beliefs
The Greeks sought what?
natural truths as the only truths; natural causes for behaviors