Soul as a subject of psychology
This phrase itself looks, you see, rather wooden. Maybe it’s better to rephrase this thought this way: psychology as a science about the soul?.. And indeed: considering the soul as a certain object of whatever it is is a strange idea. A scientific category and some not entirely defined esoteric substance... are perhaps not the most compatible things.
And yet. It is impossible to try to understand something without giving this phenomenon one definition or another: this is how our thought process works - and nothing can be done about it. Therefore, let’s take a look at the psychological dictionary, or rather, at the dictionary of psychological terms. First of all, he interprets the phrase soul in psychology as:
A concept that reflects historically changing views on the psyche of humans and animals.
That is, the connection between the soul and our psyche is, as we see, already present here. Further, the question of what the soul is from the point of view of psychology is reflected in subsequent interpretations, such as, for example:
The soul is an immaterial, life-giving and cognitive principle independent of the body.
Moreover, if we talk about the everyday use of this word, then it is more consistent with the concept of a person’s inner world, well, the word soulfulness, which also appears here, speaks of kindness and the presence of other similar qualities in a person.
Is reincarnation possible?
There is no scientific proof of reincarnation after the death of the soul into another body. Many consider the belief in resettlement to be a pseudoscientific delusion. In a study of children who had memories of a past life, the following general characteristics of cases were put forward:
- the child’s stories begin at the age of 2-3 years and end after 7 years - he no longer remembers them;
- cases are more often recorded in countries where they believe in reincarnation;
- the descriptions relate to recent events and areas in which the baby lives, and not to remote regions.
But there is another point of view, according to which reincarnation is possible. Many sessions of regression hypnosis were conducted. The patients' memories were compared with real events. The experiment is carried out not only for children, but also for adults. Many coincidences of stories with reality have been recorded.
The soul is a subject of philosophical study
For the first time, the philosophers of ancient Greece thought about the concept of soul. Actually, their ideas about this were the harbingers of the first scientific views and ideas about the world and man. These philosophers were the well-known thinkers Socrates (470-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC).
Thus, Socrates was one of the first to distinguish between the concepts of soul and body, declaring that the soul is immaterial and immaterial.
Plato identified three principles in the human soul:
- the first is the irrational lustful principle, which any living being possesses, including plants and animals;
- the second is the rational principle, counteracting the aspirations of the first principle;
- and the third is the so-called furious spirit: an integral part of the human psyche, leading him in the process of struggling to find justice in an irritated state.
The definition of psychology as the science of the soul was given by Aristotle
He wrote a whole voluminous treatise, consisting of three books, and called it briefly: “On the Soul.” Here he defines this concept as a phenomenon and distinguishes between animate objects (somata empshycha) and inanimate objects (somata apshych). Animate things include plants, animals and people. But, unlike the former, the human soul has the privilege of being able to think rationally.
Aristotle believed that every essence is represented in the unity of matter and form.
That is, the soul, if we consider the situation, according to his teachings, is, oddly enough, a certain form of a living organic body. Although, returning to the definition by philosophers and scientists of the privilege of the soul as the ability to think - here we mean not just a soul, but a rational soul. This is precisely the ideal substance separable from the body, and its essence is Divine.
And after the death of the body, it does not die with it, but returns to the incorporeal and weightless ether of the space surrounding us.
Clinical death
There is a lot of information from people who were on the verge of life and death - in a state of clinical death. They claim that they saw the light at the end of the tunnel, experienced an inexplicable feeling of peace, and could observe their physical body from the outside.
Scientific refutation of some facts
Many professors in different fields have their own ideas about what is happening, which can be summarized in theses.
- Visions can be triggered by improper functioning of the brain when a person is in a state between life and death. This reaction also occurs as a result of using a certain type of drug - then the brain accepts the sum of impulses of sensory information as reality. He cannot interpret them correctly. The received signals are perceived as a new experience, and excess information is perceived as a bright stream of light.
- The brain's incorrect interpretation of spatial references, together with the lack of oxygen that occurs in such conditions, causes a sensation of floating.
- The feeling of euphoria appears due to the release of endorphins into the blood - this is the response of the injured brain. They provoke the emergence of a state of serenity.
These facts may also explain hallucinations where people report communicating with spirits, angels and God. Passed through consciousness, they are presented as real events.
Irrefutable arguments
Researchers of the phenomenon cannot explain everything from a scientific point of view. For example, the fact that in a state of clinical death, the experimental subjects knew what was happening in another room or in another part of the world.
German scientists and psychologists conducted research over 4 years. Thousands of people who were in a state of clinical death succumbed to the experiments. They were selected from different religions for the purity of the test.
After returning to our world, everyone talked about their feelings. They claimed that they left their bodily shell and experienced great grace and peace. The information also concerned images of bright light. Upon completion of the research, group leader Ackerman concluded that the eternal soul exists. There is also another life.
The Institute of Psychiatry in London also studied people who had suffered cardiac arrest. They were then able to tell what happened in the ward, what the staff said when they were unconscious.
The science of the psyche or the doctrine of the soul?
Like everything connected with ancient Greece, the doctrine of the soul was also reflected in ancient Greek mythology. One of its classic examples in this regard can be considered the myth of Eros and Psyche: a story telling about true love, which becomes, in this case, an example and example of the highest realization of the human soul.
The essence of this story in a nutshell is this: the young god Eros, the son of the goddess Aphrodite, fell in love with the beautiful Psyche, who was an ordinary woman of non-divine origin. Naturally, such a situation could not bring joy to Eros’s mother: she did not want her son to connect his fate with a woman from the family of mere mortals.
Aphrodite did everything possible to prevent the lovers from uniting. She forced Psyche to go through the most difficult tests. But she loved Eros so much and wanted to meet him so much that she thereby melted the hearts of the Greek gods, ultimately making them her allies. And most importantly, the great Zeus, who was the supreme deity for the Greeks, eventually turned Psyche into a goddess, which made her immortal too. This allowed the lovers to unite forever.
Since then, having gained immortality, Psyche has become the personification of the symbol of the soul that is looking for its ideal, regardless of any barriers and obstacles.
Speaking about the word psychology itself, it is worth remembering that it also came to us from Greece: from the Greek words “psyche” (soul) and “logos” (teaching, science). Although this word itself was first used only in the 18th century in the treatise of Christian Wolf, a philosopher from Germany.
Finding Happiness
Psychological diseases are called diseases of the spirit. The psycho-emotional state is closely related to moral guidelines and self-awareness. Healthy people have a positive attitude towards others. They are ready to help and strive for development. For them, the feeling of happiness is normal, natural. Such people are characterized by the phrase: “A healthy mind in a healthy body.”
Some individuals have a negative attitude. They believe that problems and difficulties are the result of bad luck. Be afraid to make decisions, be responsible for actions. They do not tolerate stress well, are prone to developing depression, serious psychological illnesses, and suffer from mental illness.
Soul as an element of religious ideology
It is no secret that the history of ideas about the psyche - and, as a consequence, human psychology - originates in primitive religions and beliefs. In this regard, the soul has always been for people something unearthly, mysterious and unknown. And ideas about it were based on the knowledge and its versions that existed at that time. At least, it was obvious that while the person was alive, the soul was present in him. While the onset of sleep or death indicated that the soul was leaving him at these moments.
Antiquity, which replaced this stage of human development, brought with it the emergence of new trends, cultures, and the development of science and philosophy. All this, naturally, caused the need to more thoroughly understand what the human psyche is as such and how it is connected with the concept of the soul. It was in this era (YII-YI centuries BC - XYII century AD) that the formation of the doctrine of the soul and psychology as a science began, and also a method for studying the psyche as such appeared.
Materialism and idealism
There are two opposing points of view about the nature of consciousness:
- according to materialism, this is the content of the brain, a certain system of combining nerve cells, the generation of biochemical processes;
- according to idealism, it is the ego, an immaterial substance, undying energy.
It is a mistake to believe that the Self is a collection of cells. They are constantly renewed in the human body - old ones die, new ones are reborn. Some change daily. Therefore, the Self cannot be a collection of cells, otherwise in 80 years life would be lived not by one person, but by ten different ones in one body.
But it is known that nerve cells do not renew themselves. The question arises whether consciousness is not their totality. In this case, a person would lose a piece of his Self every day. A contradiction arises.
It is also a mistake to believe that consciousness is a brain activity. Although many people think that the outside world perceives this organ, and it decides what to do and how to act, such a statement is incorrect.
Now the brain is well studied - its functions, blocks. Specialized equipment is used for research, but nowhere in the results is there information about the connection between the brain and consciousness. Although materialists have repeatedly tried to prove this.
Psychology - the science of the soul and consciousness or soul and psyche
One of the most important stages in the development of human research thought is marked in the history of the soul and psychology by such a name as Rene Descartes (1596-1650). This man developed his doctrine of the soul and consciousness and derived his own criterion of truth associated with these concepts.
Its essence was that the human psyche was now understood as its special inner world, which was open to introspection and had in itself a certain special spiritual existence, which was opposed to everything material and external. This absolute heterogeneity was the main difference between the philosophy of R. Descartes and all the teachings that preceded him.
Aura
The existence of the aura has been debated for a long time. And now there are opponents of the theory. Adherents of the theory speak of it as a certain component of the soul. By aura we mean a real biofield in the form of luminous multi-colored rays. There are devices that can detect them. The color intensity, direction, and density of the aura depend on the emotional and physical state of a person.
Personal behavior can strengthen a person’s biofield. Following this, your health will improve. It is worth watching your actions, because it is also possible to destroy the aura. You need to think correctly.
There is a concept of “phantom pain”. For example, a person’s arm is amputated, and he experiences pain in the place where it was. Many believe that the aura of the missing limb remains, which causes unpleasant feelings.
Mastering activities: abilities, skills, habits
A skill is a successful way of performing an activity.
Skills are partially automated actions that are learned through practice.
Types of skills: walking, running, writing, thinking, sensory, behavioral skills, etc.
Habit is the need to perform an appropriate action.
Types of habits: professional, moral, hygienic, aesthetic, educational, cultural behavior, etc. Useful and bad habits.
Topic 1.4. Man as an individual
The concepts of “individual”, “personality”, “subject”, “individuality”.
Skills are partially automated actions that are learned through practice. Types of skills: walking, running, writing, thinking, sensory, behavioral skills and... Habit is the need to perform an appropriate action.
Temperament as a characteristic of a person’s individual properties
Temperament is a personality trait that gives a unique color to all activities and behavior of people.
Temperament is the individual characteristics of a person that determine the dynamics of his mental activity and behavior.
The term "temperament" in Latin means "proper proportion of parts."
Temperament properties: activity and emotionality.
Theories of temperament
Psychological characteristics of people of different types of temperament
Sanguine is fast, agile, responds emotionally to all impressions; feelings are bright, but unstable and are easily replaced by opposite feelings. A sanguine person quickly establishes social contact. He is almost always the initiator in communication, immediately responds to the desire to communicate on the part of another person, but his attitude towards people can be changeable and fickle. He feels like a fish in water in a large company of strangers, and a new, unusual environment only excites him
Phlegmatic - slow, balanced and calm, who is not easily emotionally offended and cannot be enraged; his feelings hardly manifest themselves on the outside. In relationships with other people, they are calm and stable in their emotions. But under certain conditions, indifference to work, to the surrounding life, and lack of will may develop. The phlegmatic establishes social contacts slowly, shows little of his feelings and does not notice for a long time that someone is looking for a reason to get acquainted with him. But he is stable and constant in his attitude towards people. He loves to be in a narrow circle of old acquaintances, in familiar surroundings.
Choleric is fast, impetuous, with strong, flaming feelings that are clearly reflected in expressive facial expressions, gestures, and speech. He is often prone to violent emotional outbursts. Choleric people experience rapid mood swings and imbalance. Starting a business with enthusiasm, the choleric quickly cools down, interest in the work disappears, and he continues without inspiration, and sometimes even abandons it. People of choleric temperament can be difficult to communicate with.
A melancholic person does not respond emotionally to everything. He has a small variety of emotional experiences, but these experiences are distinguished by significant depth, strength and duration. He does not respond to everything, but when he does respond, he experiences it strongly, although he expresses little of his feelings outwardly. In a familiar, calm environment, people of this type work very productively and are distinguished by the depth and content of their emotional and moral behavior and attitude towards the people around them. Melancholic people are very touchy and have a hard time dealing with failures and insults. They are prone to isolation, loneliness, feel awkward in a new, unusual environment, and are often embarrassed.
In most cases, it is a combination of the characteristics of one temperament with the traits of another. Temperament type cannot be “good” or “bad”.
Phlegmatic - slow, balanced and calm, who is not easily emotionally offended and cannot be enraged; his feelings are almost in no way... Choleric - fast, impetuous, with strong, flaming feelings that... Melancholic - does not respond emotionally to everything. He has a small variety of emotional experiences, but...
