| It has often been said, along with Ebbinghaus, that "psychology has a long past, but only a short history". The subject matter of psychology is as old as self reflection. The area upon which the discipline concentrates today has been discussed within the framework of the soul throughout much of the history of the philosophical and theological traditions of the Western world. There are pressing reasons why an understanding of this aspect of our past is of importance to the field today.;Within the past several decades the field of psychology has seen an increased interest in the spiritual dimension of persons. Those who have traditional faith commitments work to integrate their science of psychology with their theology. Transpersonalists have grafted Eastern metaphysical assumptions onto the Western roots of psychology. Much of this work is done without knowledge of the philosophical heritage of psychology. Studying those who have gone before us in the quest for an understanding of human nature can help us to overcome the limitations of current paradigms, aid in the endeavor to know persons fully, and assist in developing an understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of modern practices.;To begin the task of understanding the place of the soul in contemporary psychology, this study investigates the conceptualizations of the soul extant in the West from ancient times to the time of Kant. After a discussion of the need to study the soul at all in twentieth century psychology, the historical development of the concept is traced. A multidimensional model of the soul is developed, discussing the functions of the soul as mediator between the supernatural realities outside and within a person (God and the human spirit), moderator of the relationship of the external universals or ideals to the inner mind of the person, and manager of the internal and external empirical realities that make up the person's body, brain and the world. By analysing the work of Western philosophers and theologians according to this model, a basis is laid for study of modern psychological theorists and their approach to the age old questions of the soul, which did not disappear when the systems used to discuss them went out of vogue. |
