The development of psychology is due to changes in society and science

For the first time, Socrates pointed to the distinction between the soul and the body. He defined the soul as the mind, which is the beginning of the divine. It was in ancient times that the development of psychology began. Socrates defended the idea of the immortality of the soul. Thus, for the first time, a movement towards an idealistic understanding of the given substance has been outlined. The highest development is reached by Plato. He created the doctrine of "ideas", which are unchangeable, eternal, not having an occurrence and not being realized in any substance. Matter, unlike them, is nothing, nothingness, which when combined with any idea can become a thing. An integral part of the idealistic theory is the doctrine of the soul, which acts as a link between ideas and things. The soul is part of the world spirit, it is born before the body.

The development of psychology did not stand still. In the 17th century, a methodological setting, empiricism, differed from the existing ones. If previously knowledge dominated by authority and tradition, then from now on it is perceived as something that is questionable. There have been significant discoveries and insights reflecting recent changes in the system of scientific thinking. Psychology on a centuries-old historical path of development was considered a science about the soul, consciousness, psyche, behavior. With each of these terms, there is an objective content and confrontation of opposing views. But, in spite of this, common points of view and common ideas were preserved, at the intersection of which new and different ideas arose. Periods of development of psychology often stood out in those times when in the life of society there were any significant changes, or in related sciences - philosophy, medicine - new knowledge appeared, giving a starting point for changing previously existing views. For example, in the Middle Ages new psychological concepts were due to the great triumph of mechanics and mathematics. The first psychological concept, created with mathematics and mechanics in mind, belonged to R. Descartes. He regarded the body as an automatic system working mechanically. The development of psychology somewhat in a different direction was continued by F. Bacon, who sought to purify the human consciousness from prejudices and superstitions that obscure it. It belongs to him a well-known statement: "Knowledge is power." The scientist called for an experimental study of the world, leading the decision in this issue to experiment, rather than contemplation and observation. A person acquires power over nature, skillfully asks her questions and takes secrets from her with the help of specially invented guns.

The development of psychology in the XVII century is revealed in the following developments of the teachings:

- about a living body as a mechanical system, in which there is no place for any hidden qualities or soul;

- the doctrine of consciousness as the inherent ability of each individual, through internal observation, to receive the most accurate knowledge of his mental states;

- the doctrine of affects as regulators of behavior embedded in the body, which direct the person to what is useful for him, and turn away from that which is harmful;

- the doctrine of the relationship between the physiological and mental.

Features of the development of psychology in the XIX and XX Century were marked by the emergence of new trends: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanistic psychology. Rapid development of society and science, as in the Middle Ages, and in the era of antiquity, pushed to the emergence of views different from those that had existed before. During this period different branches of psychological science were separated and finally formed.