Psychology and philosophy - both in a sense - are studying the human mind and behavior. But psychology makes a special emphasis on this, which distinguishes it from philosophy, which considers a wider range of concepts. This article is an attempt to highlight the differences and similarities between the two disciplines, while providing an understanding of each branch of knowledge.
Philosophy and Psychology of Man
Philosophy is devoted to the study of the nature of life and life in the future, while psychology is studying the mind and behavior of man. The psychologist is trying to understand the role of the functions of the mind in social behavior and to investigate the neurobiological processes that determine thinking and behavior. On the other hand, the philosopher explores the various possibilities of establishing the truth about the origin of the universe and the nature of the soul. Philosophy is often devoted to the relationship of man with the Almighty and the higher power responsible for creating life in the universe. She also examines the metaphysical aspect of nature and the issues of life after death. In this sense, psychology, philosophy, esotericism may intersect. Psychology, on the other hand, helps in establishing various philosophical truths through logical conclusions.
Modern psychology and philosophy are two different subjects of research and study, but the origins of psychology lie in philosophy.
History
Among the earliest works on psychology was a dialogue between Aristotle and Plato around the 3rd and 4th centuries BC on the role of nature and the role of upbringing in psychological development.
The first psychology laboratory, based in India, was created at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Calcutta in 1916. The following year, the first faculty of psychology was created at the University.
Now modern psychology has a completely different path and is an independent discipline.
Differences
Psychology is a scientific study of human behavior, mental processes and experience in different contexts. Philosophy is defined as the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.
Psychology attempts to study the structure, function, and behavioral origin of the human mind, while philosophy is a critical analysis of fundamental beliefs and values.
Both sciences come from the same roots, but psychology, according to academic requirements, included a natural science methodology, and philosophy remains a purely humanitarian discipline.
Common features
Philosophy looks at how we relate to knowledge. She looks at what can be learned, and is it possible to know anything at all. She considers tools that work in logic, and traps that can disrupt the harmony of logical thought. Philosophy defines ontology and epistemology, which are considered its sections. Psychology is a study of why we think the way we think, and behave the way we behave, and what is wrong with our mind, why sometimes we turn to evil and violence, and sometimes to self-destructive behavior. The general psychology and philosophy is rooted precisely here, in the field of the study of human consciousness.
Philosophy of Psychology
This field of knowledge relates to many questions of the theoretical foundations of modern psychology. Some of the issues studied by the philosophy of social psychology are epistemological problems of the methodology of psychological research. For instance:
- What is the most suitable methodology for psychology: mentalism, behaviorism or compromise?
- Are self-reports a reliable method of collecting data?
- What conclusions can be drawn from unproven hypotheses?
- Is it possible to objectively measure a person’s abilities (emotions, desires, beliefs, etc.)?
Other questions in the philosophy of psychology are philosophical questions about the nature of the mind, brain and cognition, which are most often considered as part of cognitive science or the philosophy of reason. These questions are as follows:
- What is a cognitive module?
- Are humans intelligent creatures?
- What psychological phenomena comply with the standard required to invoke his knowledge?
- What is congenitality?
The philosophy of psychology also closely follows the work carried out in the field of cognitive neurobiology, evolutionary psychology and artificial intelligence. For example, many scientists still doubt whether psychological phenomena can be explained using the methods of neuroscience, evolutionary theory, and computational modeling. Although these are all closely related areas, some problems still arise regarding the appropriateness of importing philosophical methods into psychology. The question is still in question whether the mind is an exclusively physiological phenomenon, sufficient for evolutionary research in this area to be sufficiently fruitful, and whether computational models can do more than offer possible implementations of cognitive theories that are nothing don't tell us about the mind.
New area
The philosophy of psychology is a relatively young field, because “scientific” psychology, that is, psychology that favors experimental methods, began to dominate psychological research only at the end of the 19th century. One of the problems of the philosophy of psychology is to appreciate the merits of many different psychological schools that were once and now exist. For example, the use of cognitive psychology of internal mental states can be compared with behaviorism. Philosophy, psychology and self-development are closely related, even if we recall, for example, the works of Russian classics, we see that young people who are engaged in self-development, first of all begin to study philosophy.
Topics that are part of the philosophy of the mind go very far. For example, questions about the very nature of reason, the qualities of experience, and specific issues, such as discussions between dualism and monism, have been discussed in philosophy for many centuries.
Philosophy of Psychiatry
The philosophy of psychology also includes philosophical and epistemological studies on clinical psychiatry and psychopathology. The philosophy of psychiatry is mainly related to the role of values in psychiatry, based on the philosophical theory of values and phenomenology. Based on humanistic values, the practice is aimed at improving and humanizing clinical decision-making in very difficult mental health conditions. The philosophy of psychopathology is mainly involved in the epistemological reflection on the implicit philosophical foundations of psychiatric classification and evidence-based psychiatry. Its purpose is to reveal the constructive activity that underlies the description of mental phenomena.
Main sections
The Philosophy of Psychiatry explores philosophical issues related to psychiatry and mental illness. Philosopher of Science and Medicine Dominic Murphy identifies three areas of study in the philosophy of psychiatry. The first concerns the study of psychiatry as a science, as well as the wider use of the tools of the philosophy of science. The second involves the study of concepts used in the discussion of mental illness, including the experience of mental illness and the normative questions put forward by it. The third area deals with the connections and differences between the philosophy of the mind and psychopathology.
Similarities and differences in terms of scientific methodology
Psychology depends on philosophy for several reasons. First of all, philosophy gives psychology a general vision of what it is like to be human. This is the basis for a significant part of psychological theories. The inverse relation is also true. Philosophy sometimes uses scientific methodology to achieve its goals. Both disciplines partially share theories and objects of their research.
The connection of psychology with philosophy also lies in the fact that philosophy has introduced some topics into psychology. Some examples are sensation, perception, intelligence, memory, and will.
On the other hand, philosophy fits into psychology in two ways. The first involves the interaction between disciplines through relative hypotheses, such as the mind and the correct ways to study it. The second is through the general principles underlying scientific research.
Although both disciplines study human behavior, they are still different. Some differences lie in their methodologies, goals and morality. As for the method, philosophy works with conceptual categories and the relationships between them. Therefore, it is open to any method.
Psychology, on the other hand, is based on an empirical and statistical basis. She uses quantitative and qualitative research. She focuses on experimentation and empirical hypothesis testing. Experiments are a way to understand our behavior and test the tools, such as the treatments we have.
Regarding the ultimate goals of each area, philosophy has more abstract goals, while psychology focuses on therapy and other practical tasks. Philosophy creates philosophical systems or categories that serve to explain reality. Psychology, instead of studying a whole philosophy, seeks to isolate individual variables of human behavior.
Therefore, psychological theories consider our biology. One example is the study of the chemistry of the human brain. In addition, psychology considers individual differences.
Morality
Another big difference between the two is their concept of morality. Philosophy seeks to explain everything that includes the right behaviors. Philosophy sometimes describes what is right and what is wrong.
On the other hand, psychology does not touch on this topic at all. Although psychology has proposed scales of ethics and morality, its purpose is not to study what is moral and what is not, but to study various mores. Nevertheless, psychology, pedagogy, and philosophy often have common goals and objectives in teaching people to act in accordance with morality.
Both study people and their behavior. They have similarities and differences, and even interpret the same things in different ways. However, they do share some common theories and ideas.
Philosophy of Social Sciences
The philosophy of social sciences is the study of the logic, methods, and foundations of the social sciences, such as psychology, economics, and political science. The history of philosophy and psychology has another point of intersection of the two sciences in this area. Philosophers of social sciences study and establish the differences and similarities between social and natural sciences, causal relationships between social phenomena, the possible existence of social laws and the ontological significance of the structure and agenda of these sciences. The questions of the origin of social structures and the human mind cause great debate in sociology, psychology, and philosophy.
Main questions
Social structures determine human behavior, or is it the other way around? In this context, “thinking” refers to the ability of individuals to act independently and make free choices, while “structure” refers to factors that limit or influence the choices and actions of individuals (such as social class, religion, gender, ethnicity and etc.). Discussions about the primacy of structure or thinking relate to the very core of social ontology ("What is the social world made of?", "What is the cause in the social world and what is the effect?"). One attempt to reconcile postmodern criticism with a comprehensive social science project was the development, especially in Britain, of critical realism. For critical realists, such as Roy Bhaskar, traditional positivism makes an “epistemic mistake” by not coping with the ontological conditions that make science possible: that is, a social structure and thinking itself. This is the main problem of the philosophy of social psychology.