- Background
- Whilhem Wundt: the father of psychology
- Liepzig, the beginning of everything
- Expansion and consolidation
The origin of psychology dates back to Confucius, Hippocrates, Kant and Descartes, although the most representative figure who gave the greatest impetus for its creation as a science was Whilhem Wundt, considered the father of experimental psychology.
The word psychology comes from the Greek terms "soul" - psyche - and "study" --logia - and literally means "study of the soul." It is based on the analysis of human behavior and thoughts, and is both an academic discipline and an applied science.
This specialty has gone through different phases throughout history, giving rise to a multitude of interpretations. Some place it at the origins of civilization, while others place it in the modern era.
Background
Great civilizations such as the Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, Persian or Greek have already begun to take the first steps to study human behavior. Hippocrates is considered the first to address the study of mental disorders in the fourth century BC
Likewise, Confucius would speak in his philosophical works about introspection and observation of the person. In his writings he would relate this area to the link that human beings have with the world.
Until that time, psychology was united hand in hand with a philosophy based on observation and logical reasoning. Various contemporary authors such as Immanuel Kant or René Descartes had already proclaimed theories that mixed both fields but with important novelties.
Kant coined the idea of anthropology without getting too close to what experimental psychology would be.
Descartes introduced in the seventeenth century the duality between body and mind separated by human experience itself. This was a real advance for humanity since the coexistence between science and the Church began to emerge in a civilized way.
His theory explained that the brain was a great source of ideas and thoughts, based on innateness - innate knowledge at birth - and empiricism - knowledge through experience -.
Anecdotally, from this theory the famous phrase “Cognito, ergo sum” would be born: “I think therefore I am”, which would give way to the next stage of psychology, already known as modern psychology.
Whilhem Wundt: the father of psychology
It would not be possible to talk about the birth of current and experimental psychology without mentioning Whilhem Wundt, better known as “the father of psychology”. In 1874 he would publish his book Principles of Physiological Piscology, where he would talk about the connections between physiology and the study of human thought and behavior.
Wundt founded in 1879 the first known psychology laboratory in the world in the German town of Liepzig.
Liepzig, the beginning of everything
Under the name of the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig, Wundt started what is known until now as modern psychology. Its main objective was to analyze thoughts and sensations in a scientific way, especially based on working with the forms of organization and structuring of the mind.
Psychology finally suffered the separation and specialization of philosophy that it so badly needed. For Wundt himself, this subject should be located at a midpoint between the natural sciences and the social sciences.
A total of 116 graduate students in psychology emerged from that famous laboratory, under the teaching of Wundt himself, ready to preach his teaching and vision.
On the other hand, it is important to note that psychiatry originated thanks to the initiative carried out by Paul Flechsig and Emil Kraepelin. These two Germans created the first experimental center based on the principles of psychiatry in Liepzig.
Expansion and consolidation
As a result of that moment, psychology was born as an academic discipline. The 1880s would mark a before and after in this field. The first two academic teaching titles of "professor of psychology" - awarded to James McKeen - and "doctorate in psychology" - awarded to Joseph Jastrow - would be awarded.
Those years would serve for its expansion throughout the world to increase. Just four years later, G. Stanley Hall, Wundt's ward, would open another laboratory in the United States, the first on the new continent.
Despite this, there would be another "father of psychology", this time the American one. His name was William James. One of his books - under the name of Principles of Psychology - would serve to lay the foundations of the functionalist school.
The American Psychological Association (APA) would be created together with two of the most prestigious scientific journals known to date: American Journal of Psychology and Journal of Applied Psychology.
The first psychological clinic in the world was founded by Lightner Witmer. This was the introduction of another advance to the world of psychology. What this clinic contributed was a change from the experimental study to the practical application in people.
These milestones would be followed by the birth of many other trends –psychoanalysis, structuralism, behaviorism-, together with the appearance of intelligence tests - developed by Alfred Biner and Theodore Simon -, psychopharmacology and other advances in technology and research.
As an anecdote, the German philosopher and psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus stated that "Psychology has a long past, but a short history", referring to the transition from conventional to experimental psychology, also known as modern.
Thus, psychology arrives today as a launching pad in terms of advances and discoveries. What Whilhem Wundt started one day continues on its firm path, which still has a long way to go.