I am writing a paper about the development of the concepts of the soul, psyche and the self through out history dating back to the pre-Socratic philosophers up to the Humanistic approach to psychology, and including a religious perspective. Could you please suggest some key figures in history who have contributed to all or any of these concepts? So far I have read Aristotle, St. Augustine of Hippo., William James, Rogers, Maslow and a few articles on contemporary psychology.

-- Leah Kraynik (ljkrayni@naz.edu), March 03, 2004

Answers

You might be interested in _Early Psychological Thought: Ancient Account of Mind and Soul_ by Phil Groff and I (Praeger, 2003).

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), March 04, 2004.

Consult the textbooks by Robert Watson Jr. (The Great Psychologists: From Aristotle to Freud) and R. S. Brett's History of Psychology, which have lots of good philosophical background. Also D. B. Klein's A History of Scientific Psychology. You might also read some articles on the Soul in the Encyclopedia of Religion. Check the entries on soul, psyche, and self in APA Encyclopedia of Psychology as well.

I've discussed related issues in the following:

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

Vande Kemp, H. (1982). The tension between psychology and theology. II. An anthropological solution. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 10, 205-211.

Vande Kemp, H. (1983). A note on the term psychology in English titles: Predecessors of Rauch. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 19, 185.

Vande Kemp, H. (1983). Spirit and soul in no-man's land: Reflections on Haule's "Care of souls." Journal of Psychology and Theology, 11, 117-122.

Vande Kemp, H. (2000). In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; New York: Oxford University Press-USA.Psyche and soul (Volume 6, pp. 334- 337)

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), March 03, 2004.

For an another perspective:

Jennifer Hecht (june 2003) The End of the Soul Scientific Modernity, Atheism, and Anthropology in France Columbia University Press. June, 2003 cloth 416 pages ISBN: 0-231-12846-0

On October 19, 1876 a group of leading French citizens, both men and women included, joined together to form an unusual group, The Society of Mutual Autopsy, with the aim of proving that souls do not exist. The idea was that, after death, they would dissect each other and (hopefully) show a direct relationship between brain shapes and sizes and the character, abilities and intelligence of individuals. This strange scientific pact, and indeed what we have come to think of as anthropology, which the group's members helped to develop, had its genesis in aggressive, evangelical atheism.

With this group as its focus, The End of the Soul is a study of science and atheism in France in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It shows that anthropology grew in the context of an impassioned struggle between the forces of tradition, especially the Catholic faith, and those of a more freethinking modernism, and moreover that it became for many a secular religion. Among the adherents of this new faith discussed here are the novelist Emile Zola, the great statesman Leon Gambetta, the American birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, and Arthur Conan Doyle, whose Sherlock Holmes embodied the triumph of ratiocination over credulity.

Boldly argued, full of colorful characters and often bizarre battles over science and faith, this book represents a major contribution to the history of science and European intellectual history.

Contents

Introduction: The End of the Soul 1. The Society of Mutual Autopsy and the Liturgy of Death 2. Evangelical Atheism and the Rise of French Anthropology 3. Scientific Materialism and the Public Response 4. Careers in Anthropology and the Bertillon Family 5. No Soul, No Morality: Vacher de Lapouge 6. Body and Soul: LÇonce Manouvrier and the Disappearing Numbers 7. The Leftist Critique of Determinist Science 8. Coda Conclusion

"This is a wonderful analysis of the passionate, exuberant and at times bombastic radical anthropologists whose views were central to political culture in late nineteenth century France. In lively prose, the author characterizes these combative scientists and their contributions to every conceivable topic of the day, from religion, to morality, to prehistory, to criminality, human equality, feminism, and socialism. It is full of striking insights into the politics of science, especially the ways in which an almost religious fervor for scientific materialism could lead either to radical scientific egalitarianism or it's opposite, scientific racism." –Nancy Leys Stepan, Columbia University

"[Hecht] brings wit and enthusiasm to her densely packed tale of the freethinking anthropologists, who first knew each other as distraught republicans during the Second Empire." –Nina C. Ayoub Chronicle of Higher Education

"A fascinating glimpse of a little-known chapter in French history." – Publishers Weekly

"Hecht is . . . a very good writer and a brilliant researcher. Highly recommended for all academic libraries." – Library Journal

"In this smart intellectual history, Hecht traces the impact of a prior commitment to atheism, anti-clericalism, and materialism among nineteenth-century French anthropologists on developments in social scientific thought and public policy that still affect us today. . . Highly recommended." –Edward J. Larson, author of Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion

"A wonderful book. . . . In addition to being a first-rate monograph - a significant contribution to nineteenth-century French studies -it is also a delightful read and a page-turner." –Jonathan Beecher, University of California, Santa Cruz

"Hecht has given us a very strong account of the republican scientific vision . . . This book will be richly rewarding to scholars of the Third Republic, to historians of anti-clericalism and of the social sciences, and even to laymen with an interest in the current round of the nature-nurture culture wars about the genome and evolutionary psychology." –Martin S. Staum H-France Book Reviews

-- Rock Faulkner (rock.faulkner@umontreal.ca), March 04, 2004.