Views of Psychology and My stand

Article No. 44
07/March/2020

Psychology is engineering as a subject. It has both theory and practical applications. It can be called human engineering. APA (American Psychological Association) defined Psychology that study of mind and behaviour. The word psychology is derived from the Greek word ‘psyche’, which means mind or soul. Psychology thus started as a part of Philosophy and become independent discipline much later. In the 17th century, the French Philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and body were two entities that interact to form human experience.

Now, modern materialist viewpoint considers consciousness is the centre of being, instead of treating it as a secondary phenomenon emerging from something else, based on modern scientific presupposition; generally extremely reductionist, perfectly reasonable hypothesis, but no real evidence for mysterious consciousness.

I strongly convinced that consciousness emerges from something else that completely beyond our objective perceptions. It is the real identity of an individual that transcending in nature. It is non-physical and indestructible to the objective world. It is the inner core of an individual, and two other layers are mind and body. Last two layer are dealing primarily in Psychology. But deals of the inner core is in the purview of spirituality. Therefore, the study of Psychology is not final and complete about a human and his behaviour. Psychology is at the middle of objectivity and subjectivity as far as the systematic study of a discipline.

When we travel between objectivity and subjectivity, based on the definition of systematic study; moving towards objectivity is more powerful. It doesn’t mean objectivity is real, rather when we moving towards objectivity; we limiting our understanding to just five senses. It is a limitation of all systematic and scientific study. 

When we move towards more subjectivity that away from objectivity; they go away from five senses and move towards extra sensory perceptions. Therefore, science is highly limited to reality. Reality is filtered or altered to understand science in so many systematic ways. If this approach helps us to create more order in the world, there is no problem with such an approach. But if this approach creates more chaos in society, it needs to be directed in the proper way to reach the correct destination.

However, leaning and understanding Psychology or Psychiatry without God is similar to wandering in the wilderness or desert without direction. Here, one thing is very important that don’t be fool, stupid or betray yourself by rejecting God.

Ancient Period (Greek Heritage)

The eminent Greek Philosophers who made relevant contribution in the field of psychology are Alcmeon, Hippocrates (460- 370 BC), Socrates, Plato, Aristotle etc. 

Medieval Period

In Europe, there is a huge gap in the development of Psychology and psychiatry between the classical period, where scholars such as Aristotle and Plato first began to study the nature of thought and mind.

Scholars such as St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Roger Bacon made some astute observations about the inner working of the human mind, providing a foundation to Renaissance.

Modern Period

In 1879, the first Psychological Laboratory was established at the University of Leipzig by the Germen Philosopher-Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920). The first formal Psychological Laboratory in United States was set up at Johns Hopkins University in 1883. Then father of modern Psychology is Sigmund Freud. Also, other prominent in this period are BF Skinner, Jean Piaget, Carl Rogers, Carl Jung and Erik Erikson.

Structuralism

It is a theory of consciousness developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his student Edward Bradford Titchener. This theory was challenged in the 20th century. Structuralism as a school of psychology seeks to analyze the adult mind (the total sum of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components and then to find how these components fit together to form more complex experiences as well as how they correlate to physical events. To do this, psychologists employ introspection, self-reports of sensations, views, feelings, emotions, etc.

Functionalism

It refers to a psychological school of thought that was a direct outgrowth of Darwinian thinking which focuses attention on the utility and purpose of behavior that has been modified over years of human existence. Functionalism denies the principle of introspection which tends to investigate the inner workings of human thinking rather than understanding the biological processes of the human consciousness.

Gestalt School

Instead of looking at the component of the mind, Gestalt psychologists emphasized that the whole of anything is greater than sum of its parts.

Behaviorism

It is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment contingencies, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. Although behaviorists generally accept the important role of heredity in determining behavior, they focus primarily on environmental events.

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques related to the study of the unconscious mind, which together form a method of treatment for mental-health disorders. The discipline was established in the early 1890s by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud and stemmed partly from the clinical work of Josef Breuer and others.

Humanistic Psychology

This approach emphasizes the individual's inherent drive toward self-actualization, the process of realizing and expressing one's own capabilities and creativity. This psychological perspective helps the client gain the belief that all people are inherently good. It adopts a holistic approach to human existence and pays special attention to such phenomena as creativity, free will, and positive human potential. It encourages viewing ourselves as a "whole person" greater than the sum of our parts and encourages self exploration rather than the study of behavior in other people. Humanistic psychology acknowledges spiritual aspiration as an integral part of the psyche. It is linked to the emerging field of transpersonal psychology.

Existential Psychology

Existential psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the model of human nature and experience developed by the existential tradition of European philosophy. It focuses on concepts that are universally applicable to human existence including death, freedom, responsibility, and the meaning of life.

Cognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as "attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and thinking".

Transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is a sub-field or school of psychology that integrates the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human experience with the framework of modern psychology. The transpersonal is defined as "experiences in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond (trans) the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche or cosmos".

To me

When learning different Schools of thoughts in Psychology like Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism, Humanism, Functionalism, Structuralism etc. I personally like Existentialism very much. There is no doubt about the contributions of Psychoanalysis or CBT etc. But Victor Frankl’s Logo Therapy is best to make an individual become more productive in a future life with proper direction and confident. It says about the importance of meaning and purpose in life rather than pleasure and suffering.

By,

Nithin A F

Doing Post Graduation in Psychology

Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala.

Email : nithinaf@gmail.com

www.NithinAF.blogspot.com

07/March/2020