Thursday, March 29, 2007

Psychology as a discipline wasn’t born until in the late period of the 18th century, but its roots can be traced back to the ancient period. Plato once stated that man is his soul, his body is only a means. Aristotle once stated that soul is a function of body as sight is a function of eyes. At present, there are at least four schools of psychology: (1) Psychoanalysis, (2) Behaviorism, (3) Cognitism, and (5) Humanism. The emergences of the four schools indicate a kind of trial-and-error development in attempting to understand man.

Freud with his psychoanalysis theory regards man as a homo volens, a creature whose behavior is controlled by his subconscious mind. According this theory, man behavior is a result of interactions among three pillars of personality: id, ego, and super ego, or biologic, psychological, and social components, or animal, intellectual, and moral components.

This theory is opposed by behaviorism viewing human behavior as not controlled by the innate factor (subconscious mind), but fully influenced by his measurable, predictable, and describable visual environment. According to this theory, man is named homo mechanicus, mechanical man. Machine is a thing that works without any motive and is fully determined by objective factors (such as fuel and its conditions). This theory doesn’t question goodness or badness of a man, he is regarded as very plastic and able to be formed into anything in accordance the environment experienced by or had been prepared for him

This behaviorist theory is opposed by cognitive theory which states that man do not fully obey his environment. On the contrary, this theory views that he is able to actively react to his environment by thinking. Man attempts to understand his environment and responds it with the mind he has. Therefore, according this cognition theory, man is a homo sapiens, a thinking creature.

The cognitive theory is continued by humanist theory. Humanistic psychology regards man as a positive and determining. Man is a unique creature that has love, creativity, values, means, and personal development. Therefore, humanism theory names man homo ludens, man who understands the meaning of life.

Psychology comes from secular culture, so that psychology doesn’t care about God, sins, or goodness/badness. This psychology only knows psychological health and psychological sickness. At present Humanistic Psychology, however, begins to enter a zone whose source is divine revelation. In other words, in addition to study intellectual and emotional intelligences, it also studies spiritual intelligence.