If you have clicked on this post, you are probably interested in the evolution of psychology. Perhaps you grew up with a certain faith background, or you have been exposed to philosophy in your youth, or maybe you are just plain curious. Well, in this blogpost, I aim to satisfy some of your queries and curiosity by sketching out a timeline of how the mind has been conceptualised, and how psychology's break from philosophy and spirituality has shaped the way we approach mental health today.
The Evolution of Psychology: Splitting from Philosophy and Spirituality
According to historical records, the mind has been conceptualised since 3000 BCE. That's a whopping 5023 years ago. The mind has been prevalent in our species for at least 5 millennia, 'on paper.' It is common knowledge that the exploration of the mind and soul was deeply rooted in philosophy and spirituality. Ancient thinkers did not separate the mind from the soul. Sages, spiritual leaders, healers and philosophers have spent their lifetimes contemplating the big questions in life... What is it to be human? What gives us meaning? How are we different from other sentient beings? Why do we suffer? How do we experience emotions? What motivates us to do the things we do?
After the Dark Ages (500 -1100s), the Renaissance of the 12th century in Europe experienced a cultural and intellectual shift. This is because scholars gained access to knowledge beyond their borders and the Islamic world. They rediscovered works of ancient thinkers like Aristotle, Plato, Ptolemy and Euclid - thinkers whose ideas had been preserved and expanded upon in the Islamic world.
Not only did this reacquaint scholars with old concepts, but it also created a shared language and platform for a new, vibrant scientific community. For the first time, scholars across Europe could connect, share ideas, and collaborate on innovative solutions to complex problems. The Renaissance was a time of deep intellectual curiosity, where scholars exchanged knowledge and sparked creative breakthroughs that would shape the future of science and philosophy.
With the dawn of the scientific revolution (1500s) marked by Francis Bacon (who was heavily influenced by Copernicus and Galileo), this shift was also evident in the field of psychology. Psychology began to emerge as a separate field from its philosophical and spiritual origins. This split has had profound consequences on how we understand mental health and the search for meaning in our modern world. Let's take a closer look...
Timeline of the Separation
1. Ancient Roots: Philosophy, Religion, and Mind (3000 BCE – 500 CE i.e. a very very very long time ago)
- Mental health was steadfastly interwoven in spiritual practices in ancient civilization. Mental distress or illness was attributed to spiritual imbalances or supernatural forces in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle also significantly contributed to concepts of the nature of the mind, the soul, and emotion. If you are interested in how Greek philosophy can be translated into a practical form of spirituality, Wisdom of Hypatia is a fantastic resource that you can draw from regardless of your race, creed, faith, and religion.
- Plato (428–348 BCE) proposed that the soul was separate from the body, emphasizing reason and virtue, products of the 'higher mind' had to govern our behaviours, and that they had to be in harmony for a good and happy life (Rachlin, 2014).
- Aristotle (384–322 BCE) came along later and proposed that the soul and body are linked and wrote extensively on the biological and psychological mechanisms of the mind.
Aristotle stated that the senses were needed in order to properly determine reality, while Plato believed the senses could fool a person.
2. Middle Ages to Renaissance (500–1600 CE)
- When religion gained dominance through medieval Europe, mental illnesses adopted a different grammar. Theological terms like demonic possession or sin were used to describe psychological ailments.
- However, with the Renaissance and the scientific advent, Descartes (1596–1650) came about and deepened the divide by introducing the idea of two separate realities: subjective and objective. He claimed only science could access absolute reality (Kelsen, 2013), therefore sidelining personal experiences and practices that once helped people grow and transform. Other ways of knowing, such as through experience or participation or senses became null. Essentially, Descartes introduced the notion of mind-body dualism, influencing the path psychology would eventually take. John Vervaeke, professor of cognitive psychology, intelligence and wisdom, does an excellent explanation of this evolution in his series on the Awakening of the Meaning Crisis on YouTube: Descartes VS Hobbes
3. The Enlightenment: Science and the Mind (1600–1800)
- The Enlightenment period placed stronger emphasis on reason and scientific inquiry. The concept of the "blank slate", or "tabula rasa" may ring a bell for you. It was John Locke (1632–1704) who proposed that this was the state of our mind, signaling a turn toward empirical methods, and away from an innate sense of knowing.
- Later, Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), began to contemplate how human thought could be studied scientifically, further seeding psychology's break from philosophy. Learn more about Kant's work from John Vervaeke's lecture here: Aristotle, Kant and Evolution
4. Birth of Modern Psychology (1879)
- The official split between psychology and philosophy happened in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt started studying consciousness through scientific means, i.e. objective and measurable experiments.
- Not long after, in the U.S., William James published "The Principles of Psychology" in 1890. Although this book blended philosophy and psychology, it leaned into the new way of empirical study of the human behaviour.
5. The Rise of Psychoanalysis and Behaviorism (1900–1950)
- Soon after, the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), developed a theory that focused on unconscious drives, repressed memories, and early childhood experiences as the reflective markers to understanding behavior. Freud's work was not entirely divorced from philosophy, but he was largely focused on systematic analysis and case studies.
- John B. Watson (1858-1958) and B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), fathers of behaviorism, took the split further by focusing only on observable behavior. They deemed introspection and unconscious drives unscientific.
Science became antithetical to religion, which held a lot of knowledge through cultural and traditional methods of healing. By this time, much of spirituality, cultural identity and belonging was stripped from the study of psychology. Humans were now seen as individuals with a brain, disconnected from historical and social roots. We have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
6. Humanism and Cognitive Science (1950s–Present)
- The dehumanisation of the psyche did not last very long in the scheme of this field. By the 1950s, the mechanistic and sterile views of behaviorism lost popularity, and the field warmed back up to the embrace of humanism - thus the emergence of Humanistic Psychology. Scholars and practitioners like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow reintroduced a focus on meaning, self-actualization, and individual experience. They maintained the humanistic spiritual essence but also managed to ground it in psychological theory, particularly in qualitative (as opposed to quantitative) research, thanks to Paul Lazersfield. Qualitative research was a new scientific way to understand and measure human experiences.
- Then came the Cognitive Revolution in the 1960s-70s focusing on understanding cognitive processes like perception, memory, and problem-solving through a more empirical, scientific lens. This further made psychology a distinct, robust and rigorous scientific discipline.
Consequences of the Split: Today
The divorce of psychology from philosophy and spirituality has had lasting impacts on both fields. As psychology gained credibility and rose up to its pedestal next to the other STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) fields, it also drifted from the deeper existential and spiritual questions that once birthed its field into existence.
1. Mental Health as Mechanistic
- The modern approach to mental health often adopts the medical deficit model. It emphasizes the biological and cognitive aspects, focusing mainly on diagnoses and treatments grounded in neuroscience and evidence-based practices, i.e. what can be seen and observed. While these advancements have undoubtedly revolutionised the treatment of various mental illnesses, they can sometimes reduce complex human experiences to mere chemical imbalances or cognitive distortions. Keep in mind that psychologists and psychiatrists are the only practitioners that do not directly work with the organs involved in any tangible way, yet heavily depend on the same scientific method of knowing and treatment.
- What happens as a result is that many people find that they can manage the symptoms, yet still struggle with questions of meaning, purpose, and existence. There remains a hunger for deeper understanding of the self which was satisfied within domain of philosophy and spirituality. Now it is often sidelined in favor of symptom management in clinical settings.
2. The Loss of the Soul
- Wisdom traditions and spirituality often center on
the concept of the soul or spirit—an intangible feature of humanity that cannot be directly measured but can be felt deeply. Its exploration is also deeply tied to culture.
In modern psychology however, this concept is frequently omitted, leading to a more outwardly outlook orientation of life. We evolve to adopt a materialistic or reductionist view of life.
- This jarring absence has led many to seek meaning outside of the psychological framework—through religion, spirituality, or alternative healing modalities like TCM, ayurveda, psychedelics etc. There is a yearning for a more holistic and harmonious healing approach as people begin feeling more alienated by mainstream psychology's focus on the mind as a machine.
3. The Search for Meaning and Well-being
- The mid-20th century showcased a rise of existential and humanistic psychologies, followed by Positive Psychology. These theories respond to the hunger for questions of meaning, purpose, and flourishing. Figures like Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, wrote extensively on meaning, in his book Man's Search for Meaning, reminding the psychological community of the importance of existential questions.
- Today, there is an undeniable growing recognition that mental health and flourishing cannot be separated from the search for meaning, spirituality, or philosophical inquiry.
Impact on Mental Health Today
The split between psychology and philosophy/spirituality has shaped contemporary mental health treatment in both positive and challenging ways:
1. Holistic Interventions: There has been a resurgence of interest in integrating psychology with spiritual and philosophical practices. Holistic approaches that incorporate mindfulness, meditation, values, strengths, spirituality, and a focus on existential issues, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Logotherapy, are bridging the gap between traditional psychology and the spiritual-philosophical dimensions of life. Mental health practitioners like counsellors and psychotherapists often have the freedom and capacity to blend the various psychological approaches in their interventions.
Symptom management is no longer enough.
2. Fragmentation of the Self: One pitfall of the medical model is the fragmentation of the individual in psychological treatments. When mental health is treated in isolation from other aspects of human life—physical health, spirituality, and emotional well-being, people are left feeling incomplete or disconnected from their broader sense of self and their society.
3. Reconnection with Purpose: There is a trend towards turning to both traditional therapeutic models and alternative healing practices to address the need for meaning with their mental health. Psychology has indeed made remarkable strides in evidence-based treatments, but it is clear that human flourishing also depends on addressing existential questions, belonging, and purpose.
Conclusion
The split and rekindling between psychology, philosophy, and spirituality over the last few hundred years have definitely shaped the field of mental health in important ways. Whilst scientific inquiry in psychology has led to significant breakthroughs in what we know about the brain and behavior, it also left behind the crux of the human experience - the existential and spiritual dimensions. It is heartening to be a part of history when these disciplines reunite, where we can openly acknowledge that to fully heal, we must not only mend our mind, but also nourish our soul.
Sources
Descartes, R. (1641). Meditations on first philosophy.
Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man's search for meaning. Beacon Press.
Wundt, W. (1879). The founding of experimental psychology. Philosophical Studies, 1(1), 1–5.
James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. Henry Holt and Company.
Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications, and theory. Houghton Mifflin.
Rachlin, H. (2014). The invention of the mind (Plato). The escape of the mind. Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com
Kelsen, H. (2013). Absolutism and relativism in philosophy and politics. American Political Science Review, Cambridge Core. https://cambridge.org
Olive. (2015). The history of qualitative research. Medium. https://medium.com
Koch, A. M. (2000). Absolutism and relativism: Practical implications for philosophical counseling [PDF]. Appalachian State University. https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Koch_Andrew_2000_Absolutism.pdf
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