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Reference: SC: Psychology

Psychology is defined as “the scientific study of behavior and mental processes”. Awareness of mental disorders and physical illnesses have existed since ancient times. Research into these problems took the form of philosophy; and the applications resulting from that philosophy took the form of religion.

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Executive Summary

In ancient time, mind and soul were seen as synonymous. Mental illness was seen as the illness of the soul. The soul (mind) was seen as being at the center of life. The whole effort was to understand the nature of this soul (mind).

The soul is a motive spirit that maintains a rational balance in all its manifestations as life. Whenever this balance is disturbed there is illness.

At the center of all manifestations as life is the living body. The soul and body form a single integrated system. The rational balance of this system appears as natural laws.

The single integrated system has spiritual and physical properties. The spiritual properties appear as very fine thought. The physical properties appears as increasingly coarse radiation and matter. There is continuity, consistency and harmony from spiritual to physical and vice versa.

Matter and radiation give rise to sensations, which are then given meaning by thoughts, and so we have perception. Balance is maintained as perception brings about emotion, judgment and conclusion. This is the process of assimilation. This whole cycle is dynamic.

Death is the cessation of this integrated system along with its dynamic cycles. The cessation occurs as the system disintegrates into its elements. These elements are then recycled into the formation of more evolved systems.

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PLATO’S PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEM

Plato’s tripartite theory of the soul divides the human soul (mind) into three distinct parts:

1. Rational: This part is associated with reason, logic, and the pursuit of truth and knowledge. It resides in the head and is meant to govern and regulate the other parts for a balanced and virtuous life.
2. Spirited: Related to emotions such as courage, honor, and assertiveness, this part is linked to the chest area. It acts as an ally to reason, defending the soul and enforcing the rational will.
3. Appetitive: Associated with desires, appetites, and physical cravings (such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire), this part is located in the abdomen. It represents the instinctual drives that can threaten harmony if not controlled by reason.

According to Plato, psychological health and virtue arise when the rational part rules, the spirited part supports it, and the appetites are kept in check. This harmony within the soul reflects justice and balance in both the individual and the state, as outlined in The Republic. The three parts of the soul also correspond to social classes: rulers (rational), warriors (spirited), and producers or common people (appetitive).

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ARISTOTLE’S PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEM

Aristotle’s view of the soul (psyche) centers on the form of a living body rather than a separate substance. Unlike Plato’s tripartite soul, Aristotle’s model delineates the soul’s essential functions into three hierarchical types or “souls,” each corresponding to different kinds of living beings:

1. Nutritive (Vegetative) Soul: The most basic form, responsible for growth, nutrition, and reproduction. This soul is shared by all living things, including plants.
2. Sensitive (Animal) Soul: Present in animals (including humans), it adds perception, sensation, and locomotion to the functions of the nutritive soul.
3. Rational (Human) Soul: Unique to humans, this soul includes intellect and rational thought capacities, enabling reasoning and contemplation.

For Aristotle, the soul is the actuality (essential form) of a living body that has potential life. It cannot exist independently from the body and is not a separable spiritual entity. The soul is what gives a body its life and specific capacities, functioning as a unified whole integrating these different powers rather than distinct parts in conflict as in Plato’s model.

In his work De Anima (On the Soul), Aristotle argues that the soul cannot be separated from the body except in the case of pure intellect (nous), which is immaterial and can operate independently. Overall, the soul is the organizing principle of the body’s life, structured around a hierarchy of vital functions: nourishment, sensation, and intellect.

This system contrasts with Plato’s tripartite soul by framing the soul more as a functional unity grounded in biology, without the metaphysical separation of soul and body emphasized by Plato.

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STOIC PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEM

The Stoic psychological system centers on the conception of the soul (or mind) as a unified, rational, and corporeal entity, infused with a vital, fiery breath called pneuma that animates and permeates the body. Unlike Plato and Aristotle, who saw the soul as having distinct rational and irrational parts, the Stoics held that the soul is fundamentally one and entirely rational. Mental faculties and passions are all functions of this rational soul.

Key elements include:

1. The soul as corporeal and physical, subject to natural laws, not immaterial. It processes sensory information through pneuma which connects body and mind in a physical system.
2. Passions (pathē) are viewed as excessive or mistaken impulses—false judgments or errors in reasoning rather than irrational forces separate from reason. For example, passions are defined as impulses that go against rational control or judgment.
3. Stoics emphasized rational control over emotions to achieve a state called apatheia, meaning freedom from destructive passions, but not from all feelings. Instead, they promoted eupatheia, or rational and clear-headed positive emotions like joy, caution, and wish.
4. The psychological system also emphasizes the importance of living according to reason and virtue, focusing on what one can control (internal thoughts and actions), and acceptance of external events with equanimity.
5. This perspective influenced later psychological practices, including modern cognitive behavioral therapy, especially in its focus on cognitive appraisal and emotional regulation.

In sum, the Stoic psychological system presents a unified, rational soul where emotions are judgments subject to reason, with mental health achieved through disciplined, rational control of one’s responses and living virtuously in accordance with nature.

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EPICUREAN PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEM

The Epicurean psychological system is grounded in the philosophy of Epicurus, who saw the soul as a material body composed of very fine atoms, responsible for sensation, thought, and emotion. Unlike Plato’s or Stoics’ views of the soul as immaterial or rationally unified, Epicurus held that the soul is physical and mortal, and it ceases to exist at death, which eliminates fear of an afterlife or divine punishment.

Key features of the Epicurean psychological system include:

1. The soul is made up of four types of thin atoms (motile, quiescent, igneous, and ethereal), dispersed partly throughout the body and partly collected in the chest, allowing it to experience sensations (pain, pleasure) and conscious thought.
2. Sensations and mental images come from “films” emitted by objects, which the soul perceives and interprets, producing thought and emotion.
3. The ultimate goal of psychological well-being is achieving ataraxia (peace and freedom from mental disturbance) and aponia (absence of bodily pain).
4. Pleasure, defined not as reckless indulgence but as the absence of pain and disturbance, is the highest good and guiding principle for life.
5. Psychological health consists of removing irrational fears and anxieties, especially fear of death, which Epicurus believed arises from ignorance about nature.
6. Epicurean ethics emphasize simple pleasures, friendship, knowledge, and mental tranquility over transient sensual indulgences.

In summary, the Epicurean psychological system is a materialist, empiricist account of the soul focused on achieving a tranquil state by removing fear and pain through understanding nature and living modestly. It stresses rational evaluation of desires to maximize long-term pleasure defined as peace of mind and bodily comfort, rather than pursuit of momentary pleasures.

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DOGMATIC SCHOOL

The Dogmatic school of medicine was the earliest major medical tradition in ancient Greece and Rome, established around 400 BCE by Polybus, the son-in-law of Hippocrates. 

1. It derived its name from the Greek “dogma” (tenet/opinion) because followers adhered to principles ascribed to Hippocrates and emphasized theoretical knowledge, not just practical experience.
2. Dogmatists believed an effective physician must understand both the obvious and hidden causes of disease. This included studying anatomy, physiology, the four humors, and underlying processes of the human body.
3. They insisted that treatments should be based on logical reasoning about disease mechanisms in addition to empirical observation; experience alone was not enough without knowledge of causes.
4. Notable Dogmatic physicians included Diocles of Carystus, Praxagoras of Cos, and later, Galen, who developed the tradition even further.
5. The Dogmatic school’s main rival was the Empiric school, whose practitioners believed only observable effects and experience were relevant for medical treatment.

In summary, the Dogmatic (sometimes called Rationalist) school was defined by its rational, theory-driven approach to medicine and its direct connection to the teachings of Hippocrates.

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EMPIRIC SCHOOL

The Empiric school of medicine was an influential ancient Greek and Roman medical tradition founded in the third century BCE in Alexandria by Serapion of Alexandria and Philinus of Cos. 

1. The core principle of the Empiric school was that medical knowledge should be based solely on direct experience and observation, rather than on theoretical reasoning about hidden causes or anatomy. They believed that since the true causes of many diseases were fundamentally unknowable, doctors should rely only on what works in practice—meaning, if a remedy consistently produced a cure, it should be used, regardless of why it worked.
2. Empiricists opposed the Dogmatic (Rationalist) school, which emphasized theoretical knowledge and understanding of disease mechanisms. Instead, Empiricists considered previous clinical outcomes, case histories, and analogies as the main guides for treatment.
3. According to sources like Celsus’s De Medicina, Empiricists doubted the value of hidden causes in medicine, and their methodology was based on three pillars: (1) personal experience, (2) historical reports from other physicians, and (3) analogy to similar diseases.
4. The Empiric approach became a widely accepted alternative throughout the Roman period, and prominent figures included not only its founders but also later practitioners such as Sextus Empiricus.
5. Though the Empiric school de-emphasized anatomy and the search for ultimate causes, their pragmatic orientation contributed to the systematic recording of case histories and the advancement of pharmacological remedies.

In summary, the Empiric school was characterized by its strict reliance on observation and practical outcomes in the treatment of disease, rejecting theoretical speculation in favor of what could be proven by experience. This stance set it apart from the contemporaneous Dogmatic school and shaped much of later Greek and Roman medical tradition.

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METHODIC SCHOOL

The Methodic school of medicine was an ancient Greek and Roman medical tradition that arose in the 1st century BCE or 1st century CE, commonly attributed to Themison of Laodicea, a student of Asclepiades. It developed as a reaction to both the Dogmatic (Rationalist) and Empiric schools of medicine. 

Key characteristics of the Methodic school include:

1. It rejected the search for hidden causes of disease, such as the four humors or atomic theory, asserting that the inner workings of the body were ultimately unknowable and beyond human comprehension.
2. Instead, it focused on observable common features of diseases. According to the Methodists, every disease fell under one of three manifest types: stricture (constriction), relaxation (laxity), or a mixture of both.
3. Treatment was therefore based on these general conditions rather than individualized theories or symptoms.
4. The Methodists emphasized practical, heuristic medicine—a kind of medical reasoning based on common patterns rather than exhaustive causality.
5. They used treatments like baths, ointments, and poultices.
6. The school was popular in Rome for several centuries, with prominent physicians such as Soranus of Ephesus and Thessalus of Tralles.
7. Despite criticisms from contemporaries like Galen, who argued that causes could not always be determined just by observation, Methodism remained influential due to its pragmatic approach and relative simplicity.

In summary, the Methodic school prioritized observable disease patterns with simplified classification into three types, making medicine more systematic and accessible without elaborate theoretical speculation.

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The above covers a period that is pre-Christianity. No differentiation was made at that time between the concept of “mind” and the concept of “soul.”