By Evie Ginie

“Psychology“ comes from the Greek synthetics “psyche” and “logos”. The word “psyche” in ancient Greek means “spirit, soul, breath, invisible force which incarnates life and leads human existence” and “logos” refers to discussion and theory.  According to a Greek myth, Psyche was the most beautiful of all mortal women and all men were in love with her. However, she didn’t love anyone back until she fell in love with Eros, the god of love. Their love was so strong and it managed to withstand so much trouble that Zeus granted Psyche immortality so that she could stay united with Eros forever.

The philosophers’ preoccupation with the existence and the nature of the soul dates back to ancient Greece. Plato writes that the body and the soul are distinct features of  human existence. The soul is a complex entity and it  consists of different parts. Although all people have emotions and impulsions, only a few will be able to continue consciously on their way to personal understanding and self-knowledge.

The modern perception of psychology as “consideration of the mind” and «consideration of behavior» appeared in Europe in the 18th and 19th century. Over time, the hardest thing this new science that studies human emotions and behavior had to do, was to prove that it could reach  safe scientific conclusions with objective methods and experiments like natural sciences do. In this way the discussion continues until today.

Nowadays, psychology is a discipline that includes 24 fields both experimental and applied.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology

2. http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/psyche-and-eros-myth/