This course undertakes to sketch out the pre-scientific background to Psychology. Most of the readings therefore focus on the time that precedes the scientific revolution. My interest in setting up the course in this way has to do with the fact that most of our questions about Human Nature were well established in the ancient world. It is from here that the framework of our understanding of human beings is shaped. I want you to see the development of western identity, and to engage with the ways of thinking that have shaped our conception of humanity, at least as it features in western psychological thinking. This groundwork is important because Psychology operates under a presumption of the nature of humanity. This presumption draws extensively from what is called the Western tradition. I also want to encourage in you an historical way of thinking.
- Teacher: Dale Stout