History of Psychology through Symbols: From Reflective Study to Active Engagement. Volume 1: Historic Roots

Volume One of The History of Psychology through Symbols explores the psychological implications of the Axial Age, which emphasized seeking the universal connection that unites all humanity. It provides a political, socioeconomic, and cultural context for the historic developments of modern psychology and offers recommendations for radical system reform. The book is ideal for students, practitioners, and scholars of science, philosophy, history, and mental health and drug and alcohol treatment.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 287 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The History of Psychology through Symbols, Volume One, takes a groundbreaking approach by expanding the roots of psychology beyond the Greeks to concurrent events during the same period (800 BCE–200 BCE), known as the Axial Age by German-Swiss psychiatrist Karl Jaspers. The Axial Age emphasized seeking the universal connection that unites all humanity, rather than focusing on what one believed, but how one lived. This includes the human desire to connect to something greater, the totality of being human, explained through the use of symbols, the universal language. This volume explores the psychological implications of the Axial Age through the developments of Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Daoism, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, as well as Greek thought. Rooted in the Axial Age, Volume One delves into how the Christian and Islamic eras influenced psychology, leading to the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution, which provided the historic roots of modern psychology. Rejecting the idea that science transcends historical events, this volume offers a political, socioeconomic, and cultural context for all the historic developments. The chapter on the history of mental illness provides inspiration for a new mental health system with specific recommendations for radical system reform. In the spirit of the Axial Age on the importance of how one lives, there is an emphasis on engagement with symbols and with specific exercises, called emancipatory opportunities, to apply the lessons of psychological history to daily life.

This book is ideal for those seeking a dynamic and engaging way of learning about or teaching the history of psychology and would also be of interest to students, practitioners, and scholars of science, philosophy, history, and systems, religious studies, art, and mental health.

Weight: 664g
Dimension: 188 x 245 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367464608