Psychological Thought from Pythagoras to Freud: An Informal Introduction

Psychological Thought from Pythagoras to Freud is a concise presentation of the men, the ideas, and the events that have shaped the history of psychology in the Western world. That history opens here with an unorthodox but fascinating chapter on a man noted for his contribution to mathematics than to psychology. Yet, argues Dr. Murphy, the number theory of Pythagoras has important implications for psychology - particularly the concept that quantity, and specifically number, is the key to all reality. Subsequent chapters deal with the materialist views of Democritus, Epicurus, and Lucretius; the functionalist views of Plato and Aristotle; Hebrew, Greek, and Roman components in Catholic psychology; Renaissance psychology and psychology in the eighteenth century; evolution; William James and the "stream of thought"; Gestalt psychology; and, last, the revolutionary theories of Freud. Written in an engaging, informal style, Psychological Thought from Pythagoras to Freud is designed to isolate the mainstream of psychological ideas for the nonprofessional reader. It was first offered successfully in a series of ten lectures delivered to the Menninger School of Psychiatry.