What the Early Scientist say about our Mind
HISTORY IN PSYCHOLOGY: WHAT IS THE MIND?
Contrary to popular belief, Psychology is a pretty old
study. Its roots can be traced back almost 2000 years, and its first students
included the likes of legendary philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle.
However, they each had very different beliefs as to what the mind was. Today,
we have a pretty concrete idea of the way thoughts and personality work, but
it’s still doesn’t hurt to take a look at things from different perspectives…
Hippocrates
believed in what is known as Mind-Body Dualism. Basically, what he theorized,
was that the mind was in the brain, but it wasn’t something physical.
Plato
took the idea of Mind-Body Dualism a step further. He agreed that the mind was
in the brain and that it wasn’t a physical thing. However, he also believed
that our personalities and knowledge were innate. That if someone was bitter,
angry and very intelligent, it was because they had been born this way.
Aristotle
held an idea closest to the ones most commonly accepted today. He believed in
Monism -that the mind and soul are a result of our physical experiences; they
are one. Aristotle claimed that your behavior and personality were a result of
your experiences in life.
René Descartes, much later,
defended the idea of Mind-Body Dualism. He also believed that who we are was
who we were born to be.
John
Locke, also much later, defended Monism. He took it a bit
further to call the human mind a “blank slate” from birth. He firmly believed
that we were subject to change and grow based on things we experienced in life.
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