Early history in Psychology 3. Aristotle

If we define psychology as the formal study of the mind and a systematic approach to understanding and treating mental conditions, then the ancient Greeks were certainly among its earliest pioneers. As with many scientific disciplines, Aristotle was at the forefront of developing the foundations of the history of psychology. Aristotle’s psychology, as expected, was deeply intertwined with his philosophy of the mind, reasoning, and ethics as presented in his Nicomachean Ethics. However, the psychological method began with his brilliant mind and empirical approach.

Aristotle lived from 384 to 322 BCE. He was born in Macedon, in what is now northern Greece, but spent most of his adult life in Athens. His writings cover a broad range of subjects, spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic School of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he initiated the broader Aristotelian tradition that followed, which laid the groundwork for the development of modern science.

Little is known about Aristotle’s early life. He was born in the city of Stagira during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was raised by a guardian. At around 17 or 18 years old, he joined Plato’s Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great, beginning in 343 BCE. He later established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls.

Aristotle’s life in Athens is divided into two main periods: first as a member of Plato’s Academy (367 to 347 BCE), and later as the director of his own school, the Lyceum. The intervening years were spent mainly in Assos and Lesbos, and briefly back in Macedon. His years away from Athens were predominantly devoted to biological research and writing.

Aristotle identified three critical elements that make someone a good communicator: ethos, pathos, and logos. These concepts, established thousands of years ago, still hold relevance today. Ethos essentially refers to credibility — the reason why people should believe what you are saying. Sometimes ethos comes merely from your rank within an organization. More commonly, today’s leaders build ethos most effectively by demonstrating technical expertise in a specific area and by displaying strong levels of integrity and character.

Pathos is about making an emotional connection. It is the reason people believe what you say will matter to them. Pathos has the greatest influence on followers’ perception of their leader’s effectiveness as a communicator.

Logos is the appeal to others’ sense of reason, hence the term logic. Employing strengths in strategic thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills, today’s leaders express logical ideas in clear and compelling terms to influence outcomes. These three elements of communication—ethos, pathos, and logos—reinforce one another and are judged based on their content.

Aristotle’s most important psychological writings probably belong to his second residence in Athens, his most mature period. His principal work in psychology reflects his pervasive interest in biological taxonomy and his most sophisticated physical and metaphysical theories. Aristotle’s psychology, which he calls the study of the soul, occupies a prominent place both in his own philosophy and in the Western philosophical tradition as a whole. In his system, psychology is the culmination of metaphysics and natural science.

For Aristotle, living things serve as the paradigm of natural objects and substances in general, offering the best case for the application of his theories. Psychology also serves as a foundation for the rest of his philosophy.

The influence of Aristotelian thought on civilization is immense and difficult to overestimate. To begin, there are certain words indispensable for articulating thoughts, experiences, and problems, some of which still carry their original Greek form, while others have become established through their Latin equivalents derived from Aristotle’s own terminology. The century-long impact of Aristotelian schooling lies at the root of the establishment of this vocabulary, which constitutes only a small sample of terms that still bear his philosophical mark.

Beyond language, Aristotelianism is characterized by several cumulative features:

• In philosophical methodology, it involves a critical approach to previous, contemporary, or hypothetical doctrines; the raising and discussion of doctrinal difficulties; the use of deductive reasoning proceeding from self-evident principles or discovered general truths; and syllogistic forms of demonstrative or persuasive arguments.

• In epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, Aristotelianism emphasizes knowledge accessible by natural means or accountable by reason, incorporating inductive, analytical empiricism, and a strong emphasis on experience in the study of nature, including the study of humans, their behavior, and organizations. This moves from the perception of contingent individual occurrences to the discovery of permanent universal patterns, highlighting the primacy of the universal, expressed through common or general terms.

• In metaphysics, the theory of the ultimate nature of reality, Aristotelianism involves belief in the primacy of the individual in the realm of existence, the applicability of a certain set of explanatory concepts to reality, and the soul as the inseparable form of each living body in the vegetable and animal kingdoms.

• Aristotle regarded activity as the essence of things and emphasized the primacy of speculative over practical activity.

• In the philosophy of nature, Aristotelianism holds an optimistic position concerning nature’s aims and economy, believing in the perfection and eternity of the heavenly geocentric spheres. These spheres are perceived as driven by intelligent movers, carrying in their circular movements the stars, the sun, the planets, and the moon, influencing the sublunary world. It holds that light bodies naturally rise away from the center of the Earth, while heavy bodies move naturally toward it, with a speed proportional to their weight.

• In aesthetics, ethics, and politics, Aristotelian thought asserts that poetry is an imitation of what is possible in real life. Tragedy, by imitating a serious action cast in dramatic form, achieves purification through fear and pity. Virtue is a mean between extremes. Human happiness consists primarily in intellectual activity and secondarily in the exercise of virtues. Finally, the state is a self-sufficient society necessary for humans to achieve happiness.