The Global Origins of Psychology : Neurology, Language and Culture in the Ancient World

This book offers a historical introduction to the remote origins of psychology, and is the first book in a series on the history of the subject. Combining a deep history approach with the study of ancient civilisations, it places psychology in a historical and global context using rigorous academic research. This book begins by separating the Greek components of psychology – psyche and logos – in order to trace their histories, separate and together, through the global Neolithic and Bronze Ages. The author develops a toolkit by deconstructing the writing of history, modern psychology, and analysis of culture, and by introducing theories from neuroscience and cultural psychology that can be tested against the data. He then takes readers on a journey back in time, from the borders of our current climatic envelope (the Holocene) towards the present, through Ancient Iraq, Egypt, Israel, and China. Each chapter deepens the reader’s understanding of psychology in its global context outside the boundaries of Western culture. In so doing, the book initiates a post-colonial re-narration showing that the story of psychology is wider and deeper than many contemporary origin stories suggest. Presented in an accessible manner, this is an excellent resource for students of psychology, philosophy, history, linguistics, archaeology, and anthropology, as well as general readers who want to learn more about the origins of this fascinating subject. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Further Information Online Acknowledgements Preface Introduction: How this book can help you 1 A safe space 2 A mental 'map' (see Chapter 2 for more details) 3 A map of the world (see 1.5, then the first section of each chapter) 4 The limits of time travel (see Chapter 1, especially 1.3) 5 The role of philosophy (see Chapter 2 for more details) 6 Language and concepts in psychology 7 Learning scientific methods (see Chapters 2 and 3) 8 Linking psychology to related subjects (see Chapter 2) 9 Linking psychology to everyday life (see section 2.3 and Chapter 3) Notes Part 1: Toolkit 1. History 1.1 Parallel learning journeys 1.2 Dating apps: What the numbers mean 1.3 Stretching the timeline 1.4 Ages and stages of ancient history 1.5 The geography of ancient history 1.6 Dynamics of history: From 'Where?' to 'How?' 1.7 Turning the ship of history writing: From 'How?' to 'Who?' 1.8 Sampling previous history: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 1.9 Exorcising Hegel's Geist 1.10 Sampling previous histories: George Sidney Brett Notes 2. Psychology 2.1 The spectrum of psyche: Levels of explanation 2.2 Bridges to the past (a) Natural sciences: Anatomy, genetics, neurology 2.3 Bridges to the past (b) Cognitive sciences: Tools, equipment, artefacts 2.4 Bridges to the past (c) Linguistics 2.5 Bridges to the past (d) Anthropology 2.6 Bridges to the past (e) Grammatology 2.7 Conclusion Notes 3. Culture 3.1 Applying the second psychology 3.2 Patterns of culture 3.3 Worldviews 3.4 Correspondences 3.5 Dialectic 3.6 Deconstruction 3.7 Neurology and culture 3.8 Theory One (T1): The bicameral mind 3.9 Theory Two (T2): The divided brain Notes Part 2: Workshop 4. New stones, new cosmos 4.1 Orientation: The new world 4.2 Göbekli Tepe: A premonition 4.3 Inside the Neolithic mind: Psyche and cosmos 4.4 Inside the Neolithic mind: Modelling the cosmos 4.5 Neolithic society: Macrocosm and myth 4.6 The neolithic psychologist 4.7 Review of Theory One (T1) 4.8 Review of Theory Two (T2) 4.9 T2 and the role of the mother Notes 5. Ancient Iraq 5.1 Orientation: The land between the rivers 5.2 The Sumerian writing system 5.3 Scribal training: The é-dubba 5.4 A day at the é-dubba 5.5 Sumerian psyche (1) The tablet of destinies 5.6 A warm evening in uruk 5.7 Sumerian psyche (2) Myth as mirror 5.8 Review of Theory One 5.9 Review of Theory Two 5.10 T2 and the impact of the city Notes 6. Ancient Egypt 6.1 Orientation: The gift of the Nile 6.2 Sacred marks: Egyptian writing systems as media 6.3 Introducing the Egyptian lexicon of psychological terms 6.4 Children of Imhotep: The Egyptian renaissance 6.5 Egyptian medicine and the åb 6.6 The living åb: Cognition, phenomenology and conscience 6.7 The ka and social psychology 6.8 The ba and the art of dying well 6.9 Views of a future state: akh and eternal destiny 6.10 Concluding reflections 6.11 Review of Theory One 6.12 Review of Theory Two Notes 7. Ancient Israel 7.1 Orientation: Voices from the margins 7.2 The voice of the prophet 7.3 Foundations of Hebrew anthropology 7.4 Commentary in Bereshith: first shoots of a Hebrew psyche 7.5 Commentary in Tanakh: First fruits of Hebrew psyche 7.6 The principle of correspondence 7.7 Hebrew logos as law 7.8 Summary and legacy 7.9 Review of Theory One 7.10 Review of Theory Two Notes 8. Ancient China 8.1 Orientation 8.2 Building the Chinese worldview 8.3 Chinese logos on the right: wen 8.4 Chinese logos on the left: Yi Jing 8.5 Origins of a binary logic 8.6 Intimations of Chinese psyche 8.7 Review of T1 8.8 Review of T2 Notes Bibliography Subject/Author Index Nation Index