Aristotle and Modern Psychology

However, there was a conception of psychology, although quite different from that of modern psychology. As with so many things in the intellectual lineage of the Western world, this conception is associated with the thought of Aristotle.

According to Leahey (2000), Aristotle was first and foremost a scientist, with a practical bent. He was an empiricist and observer, which included observation of human beings, as well as the rest of the natural world. It is from Aristotle that we derive our sense that there is a "natural" way of doing things and that this is important. In other words, Aristotle promoted a worldview which identified the natural world as the model for thought and human behavior and promoted the idea that the "natural" could be identified through scientific methods, including observation.

Aristotle had a complete philosophical system out of which his concept of psychology emerged. Although it might be helpful to understand some of his ter

. . .
than our modern one. For Aristotle, mind was not denuded of sensory perception, nor did it consist of a big brain thinking only rational thoughts. It also included memory, imagination, sensation, and feelings. Contribution to modern psychology: There are those who would contend that before Darwin, the only scientific thinker worth mentioned is Aristotle. Further, Fukuyama (1999) stated that except for his lack of understanding of the human genome, Aristotle was the thinker most accurate in his portrayal of human nature and the psychology of the human being. Fukuyama's view is a basically conservative one, asserting that human nature does not change much, even though society may go through periodic disruptions. Instead, there will be times of chaos, but social norms will tend to reassert themselves over time. Basically, Fukuyama indicated that people will tend to reconstruct the same old social norms and assert the same old values. It is, according to him, built into human nature, rather than the product of religion or even government. It is the common sense that Aristotle placed in his structure of the human soul that will lead them to do this. While there are ways in which Aristotle's psychology seem destructive, as
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Freud Aristotle, According Leahey, Basically Fukuyama, Unfortunately Aristotle, Introduction Psychology, Aristotle Fukuyama, Aristotle Leahey, Aristotle Freud, Goodey CF, References Aristotle, modern psychology, human nature, study human, psychology study, leahey 2000, contribution modern psychology, understanding human, social norms, separate body, natural world, psychology human,
Approximate Word count = 1324
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Aristotle and Modern Psychology