The History of Psychology
Primary Source E-Texts
Hammurabi's
Code of Laws -This is one of
the earliest codes of law. It reveals much about the prevailing idea about the
control of human behavior from 4000 years ago. The attitude of this law is
equitable retribution for crime and its implied effect is the control of what
people do. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" is the
underlying principle of these laws. Much of the feeling if not the detail of
Hammurabi's laws continues in modern culture.
How does this Code and its legacy correspond
with our contemporary understanding of the influence of punishment on human 
behavior?
Bhagavad-Gita - In a bewildering world of gods, some representing
ultimate evil and some the highest good, humanity is given a set of moral
standards to guide daily life. Of
further psychological interest is the profound consideration of the nature of
knowledge and consciousness. The
painting is of
Egyptian
Book of the Dead - This work, which evolved over the early centuries of
this most ancient of civilizations, portrays the Egyptian conception of the
human place in the universe and what governs behavior. The gods are
disinterested if not disdainful of humans. However, "good" behavior
(behavior which does not result in social disorder) results in continuation in
an uncertain afterlife. (The image is of Nefertiti (Nefertiti), the queen of Amenhotep, who originated a variety of monotheism, which
may have influenced the Hebrew's concept of a single, all-powerful, god.)
The Torah (the first five books of the Bible) portrays a people as being
integrally connected in nationhood as distinguished from individuality. Their
god, Jehovah, is stern in his actions toward his children but is fundamentally
compassionate in his goals for the their future.
Although the metaphor of god as a father may have originated in Egypt, perhaps
in the Hebrew captivity, the Jews uniquely promulgated the notion of one god
(monotheism) and the psychological consequences: individuals who are
subordinate to their clan which is dominated by the insurmountable power of
their father - god. The picture is of a
part of the book of Leviticus from a 10th century Torah in the
Confucius' (551-479 B.C.E.) The Sayings, The
The Doctrine of the Mean and The Great Learning - This Chinese sage, while consciously avoiding
systematizing his ideas, taught a reverence for social responsibility as the
only moral motivator for human action. The Family and its inherent
organizational structure was the model for society.
Lao-Tse (604 - ? B.C.E.)- The Tao and its Characteristics - Taoism (The Way) professes a
oneness of people and nature; answers to fundamental question of existence and
morality are to be found in the understanding and fulfillment of what naturally
occurs in the world apart from the unnaturalness of human society. (The YinYang, depicted here, is the symbolic representation of
the coalescence of apparent opposites, which underlie "The Way". Pain-pleasure, hate-love, sweet-sour, soft-hard -- conflicts that
combine to give life value and meaning.)
Presocratic
Greek Philosophy - This Encyclopedia of Philosophy site has a great deal of
information on the philosophers who preceded Socrates. These thinkers
emphasized explanations of the world (including people) in terms that were more
or less independent of religious traditions. Thus, we see in their work the
creation of "naturalistic explanation", logic and the beginnings of
the conflict that that sort of reasoning has with mystical views of the world.
Hippocrates' (460-380? B.C.E.) On the Sacred Diseases, Aphorisms, On Airs, Water, and Places from the Internet Classics represent some of the
thinking of "the father of medicine". This thinker and expert
practitioner is important because of his naturalistic rather than mystical
approach to medical practice. His deductive reasoning from physical theory to
practical application included psychological disorder as well as physical
disease. The Photograph is of the Asklepeion (Asklepios was the god of medicine) on modern
Plato's Meno, Phaedo, Timaeus and Republic (Internet Classics, University of Oregon, Christopher Green's Classics
in Psychology and the University of Virginia) present this philosopher's
influential psychological position on how people come to understand what is
real. Our senses misrepresent reality and bind us to a sorry existence. Our
minds are inherently capable of saving and delivering us into the domain of
truth, the realm of ideas. Arguably, Plato's thought is the beginning of the
modern philosophy of scientific theory.
Aristotle's De Anima, The History of Animals, On Dreams , On Memory and Reminiscence, and Nicomachean Ethics (Internet Classics and York University) show this student of Plato's
devotion to observation. Although Aristotle advocated the critical nature of
correct reasoning in the understanding, he forcefully asserted that theory must
be dominated by what is publicly demonstrable.
Epicurus' (341-270 BCE) The
Principal Doctrines (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) teaches that
pleasure is a natural and just motive for our activity. This is not, however, selfish pleasure of which he speaks. Virtue is
the best route to the highest pleasure.
Lucretius' (99-55?BCE)
On the Nature of Things (The Internet Classics Archives) is a poem which
follows Epicurus' philosophy. It depicts the material world and the conflict
between the naturalist versus the artistic views that
are both present in this one thinker. The photo is of the amphitheater of
Other Useful Sites:
Library of Congress
Greek and Latin Classic Texts
Five Chinese Classics (translated by Charles Muller)
Ancient Egypt
from A to Z (Significant Egyptian Concepts)
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Oriental Institute -
University of Chicago
Exploring Ancient Cultures
(University of Evansville)
Ancient and Lost Civilizations