History of Psychology

Psychology, being relatively young academic discipline, did not develop as a

formal discipline until the late 19t h century. Its roots nonetheless extend to the
ancient past. The history of psychological thought originates in philosophy, as
philosophers, for centuries, have wondered about the nature of the mind and
the soul.

Greek philosophers, from about 600 to 300 BC, probed about a wide
range of psychological topics. They were particularly interested in the nature
of knowledge and how people come to know the world in the branch of
philosophy called epistemology.

The Greek philosopher Socrates and his successors, Plato and Aristotle,
philosophized about apparently psychological topics such as common sense,
rationality, memory, common sense, rationality, memory, pleasure and pain,
knowledge, beauty, desire, free will, motivation, and the subjective nature of
perception. They also speculated about whether human qualities are innate
or the effect of experience. In ethics (moral philosophy), ancient philosophers
delved into various questions related to psychological. Are humans inherently
good? How can we attain happiness? What motives or drives do human beings
have? Are people naturally social?

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