Aristotle

Father of Psychology

Aristotle is often regarded as the father of psychology, and his book, De Anima (On the Soul),
the first book on psychology. He was concerned with the connection between the psychological
processes and the underlying physiological phenomenon. Many believe he contributed more to
prescience psychology than any other person, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Although
Aristotle attended Plato's Academy, he became convinced of the need for empirical
observations and criticized many of Plato's philosophies. Plato and Aristotle "represent a basic
divergence in the way man and the world may be viewed, a modern parallel being the difference
between the clinical and the experimental psychologist. (Zusne, p. 8)"
Aristotle postulates that the body and the mind exist as facets of the same being, with the mind
being simply one of the body's functions. He suggests that intellect consists of two parts:
something similar to matter (passive intellect) and something similar to form (active intellect).
Aristotle says that intellect "'is separable, impassible, unmixed, since it is in its essential nature
activity. . . . When intellect is set free from its present conditions, it appears as just what it is and
nothing more: it alone is immortal and eternal . . . and without it nothing thinks (Britannica
Online, "Physiological Psychology")."
Aristotle described the psyche as a substance able to receive knowledge. Knowledge is
obtained through the psyche's capability of intelligence, although the five senses are also
necessary to obtain knowledge. "As Aristotle describes the process, the sense receives 'the
form of sensible objects without the matter, just as the wax receives the impression of the
signet-ring without the iron or the gold.' (Britannica Online, "Physiological Psychology")."
Sensitivity is stimulated by phenomenon in the environment, and memory is the persistence of
sense impressions. He maintained that mental activities were primarily biological, and that the
psyche was the "form" part of intellect. Aristotle insisted that the body and the psyche form a
unity. This idea is known as hylomorphic.
Aristotle believed that thinking requires the use of images. While some animals can imagine,
only man thinks. Knowing (nous) differs from thinking in that it is an active, creative process
leading to the recognition of universals; it is akin to intuition, it does not cause movement, and it
is independent of the other functions of the psyche. (Zusne, pp. 8-9)
Thomas Aquinas based many of his ideas on those of Aristotle, metaphysically interpreting
them to make them fit his Christian theological framework. Thomistic psychology is still taught in
Catholic schools today.
http://www.intelltheory.com/aristotle.shtml