How Did Ancient Greek Culture Influence The Field Of Psychology

Ancient Greek culture has been influential on the field of psychology. Many ancient Greek scientists were influencers on the field of medicine, physiology, as well as psychology. The word Psyche in Greek means “soul” (Devlin, 2011). The ancient Greeks believed that there was a mortal woman who was so beautiful the son of a Greek god fell in love with her and her name was “Psyche” (Devlin, 2011). The origin of the story of psyche stems from the ancient Greeks, however, the true story is unclear. Somehow, the story of Psyche and the meaning of the word psyche or “soul” has been impactful on the field of psychology. Psychology evolved from the fields of philosophy, science, medicine, and theology and was originally housed under the term “mental

Ancient Greeks expressed that the soul was considered “the source of consciousness and life” (Jacobsen, Zartman, & Ashfaq, 2017). Rehwalt (2013) said the Greeks and Romans were the first culture to recognize mental illness as a medical condition, attempt to find treatments, and that mental illness can influence physical health. History establishes the field of psychology stems from ancient Greece and Greek philosophers. Many Ancient Greek philosophers attempted to garner a better understanding of what it meant to engage the “soul” or the unconscious with the conscious or body. Various Greek philosophers found there to be a mind body connection between humans and wanted to find out how that came to be (Rehwalt,

Some of the most influential Greek philosophers in history not only impacted the field of psychology but had influences in medicine, science, and philosophy. For example, Hercalitus “sought to discover the nature of knowledge and essence of things” Thales “was the first known Greek philosopher, physicist, and mathematician”, Pythagoras “believed that the body was a container for the soul” and “Alcmaeon was the first to define the difference between man and animals, stating that man has the power of understanding” (Jacobsen, Zartman, & Ashfaq, 2017). Other ancient Greek philosophers such as Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle heavily influenced the notion of the soul and mind body connection. For instance, Hippocrates focused on the disturbance of harmony and was the first philosopher to connect the conscious life including emotions to the brain (Jacobsen, Zartman, & Ashfaq, 2017). Plato was also well known for his connections of the mind and body, as he defined the three aspects of the psyche (reason, feeling, and appetite) to the relationship of the psyche, mind and body (Jacobsen, Zartman, & Ashfaq, 2017). Countless Greek philosophers and scientists had an impact on the field and development of psychology as we know it today. The notion of the psyche began as an ancient Greek myth about a beautiful woman and evolved into, the