Was psychology ever, at any time, not considered a science?

-- Levene Griffiths (levene.griffiths@uwimona.edu.jm), October 29, 2002

Answers

Yes. Throughout most of western history, psychology was widely considered to be a branch of metaphysics. Over the course of the 19th century this gradually changed in some quarters. Psychology was taught in the philosophy dept. of most universities until well into the 20th century (with a few well-known exceptions, of course, that opened psychology dept's in the last decade or soof the 20th century).

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), October 29, 2002.

I would also argue that it was a part of philosophical theology-- although that is related to metaphysics. For an overview of early meanings of psychology, you can read my article, which references extensive literature on the origins of the term psychology.

Vande Kemp, H. (1982). The tension between psychology and theology: I. The etymological roots. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 10, 105-112.

What's fascinating is how many books there were in the nineteenth century with the title "Biblical psychology." These were books on "anthropology", or the nature of persons. In that tradition, psychology stands side-by-side with theology and demonology/angelology.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), October 30, 2002.