by Brett
Ancient psychology finds its origins in pre-Socratic philosophy, where thinkers began transitioning from mythological to rational explanations of mental phenomena. Early Greek philosophers like Thales, Anaximander, and Heraclitus established naturalistic approaches to understanding the world and human nature, though their psychological speculations remain fragmentary. The Sophists, particularly Protagoras, shifted focus toward human experience with his famous assertion that “man is the measure of all things,” emphasizing subjective perception and practical knowledge.
古代心理学的起源可追溯至前苏格拉底哲学，当时的思想家开始从神话解释转向对心理现象的理性阐释。早期希腊哲学家如泰勒斯、阿那克西曼德和赫拉克利特，确立了以自然主义方式理解世界和人性的方法，尽管他们的心理学推测仍较为零散。智者学派，尤其是普罗泰戈拉，将焦点转向人类经验，他著名的论断“人是万物的尺度”强调了主观感知和实用知识的重要性。
Plato’s psychology represents a systematic development within his comprehensive philosophical system. In dialogues like the Phaedo, he establishes the immortality of the soul and its fundamental distinction from the body. The Republic elaborates his tripartite division of the soul into rational, spirited, and appetitive elements, each with distinct functions and motivations. Plato’s theory of knowledge as recollection (anamnesis) posits that learning involves remembering what the soul knew before birth, while his allegory of the cave illustrates the transition from sensory illusion to intellectual understanding. The Timaeus offers a physiological psychology connecting mental functions to bodily organs.
柏拉图的心理学是他全面哲学体系内的系统性发展。在《斐多篇》等对话录中，他确立了灵魂的不朽及其与身体的根本区别。《理想国》详细阐述了灵魂的三元划分——理性、激情和欲望部分，各部分具有不同的功能和动机。柏拉图的知识即回忆说（anamnesis）认为，学习的过程就是回忆灵魂在出生前所已知的内容；而他的“洞穴寓言”则阐明了从感官幻象到理性理解的转变过程。《蒂迈欧篇》则提供了将心理功能与身体器官相联系的生理心理学观点。
Aristotle’s De Anima marks psychology’s first systematic treatise, defining psyche as the form of a natural body having life potentially. Aristotle rejects Platonic dualism, instead viewing soul and body as inseparable aspects of a living organism. He develops a hierarchical classification of soul faculties: nutritive (shared by all living things), sensitive (possessed by animals), and rational (unique to humans). His detailed analyses of perception distinguish between the five special senses and common sense, which integrates sensory information. Aristotle’s theory of imagination (phantasia) bridges sensation and thought, while his account of memory and recollection explores associative processes. The active intellect (nous poietikos) represents the highest cognitive faculty capable of abstract thought.
亚里士多德的《论灵魂》是心理学史上第一部系统性论著，将“灵魂”（psyche）定义为具有潜在生命能力的自然身体的形式。亚里士多德拒绝柏拉图的二元论，转而认为灵魂与身体是有机体不可分割的两个方面。他提出了灵魂能力的层级分类：营养能力（为所有生物所共有）、感性能力（为动物所拥有）和理性能力（为人类所独有）。他对感知的详细分析区分了五种特殊感官与共同感官，后者负责整合感官信息。亚里士多德的想象理论（phantasia）连接了感觉与思维，而他对记忆与回忆的论述则探讨了联想过程。主动理智（nous poietikos）作为最高认知能力，能够进行抽象思维。
Hellenistic schools developed competing psychological systems. Stoics, led by Zeno and Chrysippus, advanced materialist psychology identifying the soul with pneuma (warm breath) pervading the body. Their cognitive theory of emotions interpreted passions as mistaken judgments that could be corrected through reason. Epicureans, following Epicurus, explained mental phenomena through atomistic mechanics, where perception results from fine films of atoms (eidola) streaming from objects. They advocated ataraxia (freedom from disturbance) as psychology’s therapeutic goal. Skeptics, particularly Pyrrho and later Sextus Empiricus, questioned the possibility of certain knowledge about mental states, promoting epoche (suspension of judgment) to achieve tranquility.
希腊化时期的学派发展出了相互竞争的心理学体系。斯多葛学派在芝诺和克吕西普斯的领导下，提出了唯物主义心理学，将灵魂等同于弥漫全身的“ pneuma ”（温暖的气息）。他们的认知情绪理论将激情解释为错误的判断，认为可以通过理性加以纠正。伊壁鸠鲁学派遵循伊壁鸠鲁的观点，通过原子论力学来解释心理现象，认为感知是来自物体的微小原子薄膜（ eidola ）流的结果。他们主张“ataraxia”（无扰动状态）作为心理学的治疗目标。怀疑学派，特别是皮浪和后来的塞克斯都•恩披里柯，质疑关于心理状态确定知识的可能性，提倡“epoche”（判断悬置）以达到宁静。
Roman contributions largely adapted Greek ideas, though with practical emphasis. Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura popularized Epicurean psychology in Latin, while Cicero’s eclectic works synthesized various Greek theories. Galen’s medical psychology dominated late antiquity, systematizing the humoral theory that connected bodily fluids (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile) to temperament types (sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic) and mental disorders. His detailed neuroanatomy localized psychological functions in brain ventricles.
罗马人的贡献在很大程度上借鉴了希腊的思想，但更注重实用性。卢克莱修的《物性论》将伊壁鸠鲁心理学在拉丁语世界普及开来，而西塞罗的折衷主义著作则综合了各种希腊理论。盖伦的医学心理学在晚期古代占据主导地位，他系统化了体液学说，该学说将人体体液（血液、黏液、黄胆汁、黑胆汁）与气质类型（多血质、黏液质、胆汁质、抑郁质）及精神疾病联系起来。他还详细研究了神经解剖学，将心理功能定位在脑室中。
Early Christian psychology transformed classical concepts through theological frameworks. Augustine’s Confessions pioneered introspective analysis, examining memory, will, and the experience of time with unprecedented depth. His concept of the inner self established introspection as psychological method, while his doctrine of illumination posited divine assistance in knowledge acquisition. Augustine’s emphasis on will and its corruption through original sin shifted psychological focus toward volitional and moral dimensions.
早期基督教心理学通过神学框架对古典概念进行了转化。奥古斯丁的《忏悔录》开创了内省分析的先河，以前所未有的深度探讨了记忆、意志以及时间体验。他提出的“内在自我”概念确立了内省作为心理学方法的地位，而他的“光照说”则认为知识的获取需要神圣的帮助。奥古斯丁对意志及其因原罪而堕落的强调，使心理学的研究焦点转向了意志和道德层面。
Medieval Islamic scholars preserved and advanced Greek psychology during Europe’s so-called Dark Ages. Al-Kindi adapted Greek thought to Islamic contexts, while Al-Farabi synthesized Platonic and Aristotelian elements. Avicenna’s monumental Canon of Medicine integrated Galenic psychology with philosophical analysis, introducing the “floating man” thought experiment to demonstrate self-awareness independent of sensory experience. His theory of internal senses distinguished between common sense, retentive imagination, compositive imagination, estimative faculty, and memory. Averroes defended Aristotelian orthodoxy against Avicennian modifications, particularly regarding the unity of the intellect, though his position sparked controversies in Christian Europe.
中世纪伊斯兰学者在欧洲所谓的“黑暗时代”期间保存并发展了希腊心理学。阿尔-肯迪将希腊思想适应于伊斯兰语境，而阿尔-法拉比则融合了柏拉图和亚里士多德的思想元素。阿维森纳的不朽著作《医学典籍》将盖伦心理学与哲学分析相结合，提出了“悬浮之人”的思想实验，以证明脱离感官经验的自我意识。他的内部感官理论区分了共同感、保持性想象、组合性想象、估计能力与记忆。阿维罗伊则捍卫亚里士多德正统思想，反对阿维森纳对智力统一性的修改，尽管他的立场在基督教欧洲引发了争议。
High medieval scholasticism produced sophisticated syntheses of Aristotelian psychology with Christian doctrine. Albertus Magnus cataloged psychological knowledge in his De Anima commentary, while Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae created the definitive scholastic psychology. Aquinas distinguished vegetative, sensitive, and rational souls hierarchically, with humans possessing all three. His detailed faculty psychology analyzed cognitive processes from sensation through phantasm formation to intellectual abstraction via the agent intellect. The sensitive appetite included concupiscible and irascible powers, while will (rational appetite) directed action toward intellectually apprehended goods. Despite theological constraints, scholastics developed nuanced theories of intentionality, mental representation, and volition.
中世纪盛期的经院哲学产生了亚里士多德心理学与基督教教义的精妙综合。阿尔伯特大帝在其《论灵魂》注释中对心理学知识进行了梳理，而托马斯•阿奎那的《神学大全》则构建了权威的经院心理学体系。阿奎那将植物灵魂、感觉灵魂和理性灵魂按等级区分，认为人类同时具备这三种灵魂。他详细阐述的官能心理学分析了认知过程，从感觉经表象形成到通过主动理智实现的智力抽象。感觉欲望包含情欲能力和愤怒能力，而意志（理性欲望）则引导行动趋向被理智所把握的善。尽管受到神学限制，经院哲学家们仍发展出了关于意向性、心理表征和意志的精细理论。
Late medieval nominalism, led by William of Ockham, challenged scholastic realism. Ockham’s razor eliminated unnecessary entities from psychological explanation, emphasizing particular mental acts over abstract faculties. His distinction between intuitive and abstractive cognition separated direct awareness from conceptual knowledge. Meanwhile, mystics like Meister Eckhart and Teresa of Ávila explored extraordinary states of consciousness, while Renaissance humanists recovered classical texts and emphasized individual experience.
晚期中世纪的唯名论以威廉•奥卡姆为代表，挑战了经院哲学的唯实论。奥卡姆剃刀原则从心理解释中剔除了不必要的实体，强调具体的 mental acts（心智行为）而非抽象的能力。他区分了直观认知与抽象认知，将直接意识与概念知识区分开来。与此同时，像梅斯特林•埃克哈特和特蕾莎•德•阿维拉这样的神秘主义者探索了非凡的意识状态，而文艺复兴人文主义者则重新发现了古典文本，并强调个人经验。
The scientific revolution fundamentally transformed psychology’s foundations. Descartes’ substance dualism separated res cogitans (thinking substance) from res extensa (extended substance), creating conceptual space for mechanistic physiology while preserving mind’s immateriality. His reflex theory explained involuntary movements mechanically, while passions represented mind-body interactions. Descartes’ pineal gland theory attempted to explain interaction, though unsatisfactorily. Despite problems, Cartesian dualism dominated early modern psychology by clearly demarcating mental from physical phenomena.
科学革命从根本上改变了心理学的基础。笛卡尔的实体二元论将思维实体（res cogitans）与广延实体（res extensa）分开，为机械生理学创造了概念空间，同时保留了心灵的非物质性。他的反射理论从机械角度解释了不自主运动，而情感则代表了心身相互作用。笛卡尔的松果腺理论试图解释这种相互作用，尽管并不令人满意。尽管存在诸多问题，笛卡尔二元论仍通过清晰地区分心理现象与物理现象，在早期现代心理学中占据主导地位。
British empiricists developed alternative approaches. Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding rejected innate ideas, proposing tabula rasa where experience writes. His distinction between primary and secondary qualities separated objective properties from subjective experiences, while associationism explained complex ideas’ formation. Locke’s personal identity theory based selfhood on consciousness continuity rather than substance. Berkeley’s immaterialism denied matter’s existence, reducing everything to perceptions and perceiving minds. His New Theory of Vision provided mechanistic explanations of depth perception while maintaining idealist metaphysics. Hume’s radical empiricism in A Treatise of Human Nature reduced self to “bundle of perceptions” connected by association. His analysis of causation as constant conjunction challenged necessary connection notions, while his treatment of passions as impressions with causes and effects naturalized emotion.
英国经验主义者发展了替代方法。洛克在《人类理解论》中摒弃了天赋观念，提出了“白板说”，认为经验是书写内容的来源。他区分了第一性质和第二性质，将客观属性与主观体验区分开来，同时用联想主义解释复杂观念的形成。洛克的个人同一性理论认为自我基于意识的连续性而非实体。贝克莱的非物质主义否认物质的存在，将一切归结为感知和感知心灵。他的《视觉新论》对深度感知提供了机械论解释，同时坚持唯心主义形而上学。休谟在《人性论》中的激进经验主义将自我简化为“感知的集合”，这些感知通过联想相互联系。他对因果关系的分析将其视为恒常联结，挑战了必要联系的观点，同时将激情视为具有原因和结果的印象，从而将情感自然化。
Enlightenment psychology diversified nationally. French sensationalists like Condillac reduced mental life to transformed sensation, using his “statue” thought experiment to build complexity from simple sensation. La Mettrie’s L’Homme Machine extended mechanism to humans, while Cabanis asserted “the brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile.” Scottish common sense philosophers, particularly Reid, countered skepticism by appealing to principles implanted in human nature. Reid’s faculty psychology distinguished between intellectual and active powers, while his direct realism challenged representational theories of perception. German rationalists maintained different traditions. Leibniz’s monadology conceived simple substances with perception and appetite, with consciousness arising from distinct perceptions. His law of continuity anticipated evolutionary psychology, while pre-established harmony solved mind-body interaction. Kant’s critical philosophy in Critique of Pure Reason distinguished empirical psychology (studying mental phenomena) from transcendental psychology (examining knowledge conditions). His rejection of rational psychology as paralogisms challenged soul substance claims, while his categories and forms of intuition structured human experience universally.
启蒙心理学在各国呈现出多元化的发展。法国感觉主义者如孔狄亚克将精神生活简化为转化后的感官体验，并通过其“雕像”思想实验从简单感官体验构建复杂性。拉美特利的《人是机器》将机械论扩展到人类，而卡巴尼斯则提出“大脑分泌思想如同肝脏分泌胆汁”。苏格兰常识哲学家，尤其是赖德，通过诉诸植根于人类本性的原则来反驳怀疑论。赖德的能力心理学区分了智力能力和活动能力，其直接实在论则挑战了表象理论的感知观点。德国理性主义者则保持着不同的传统。莱布尼茨的单子论设想了具有感知和欲望的简单实体，意识源于清晰的感知；他的连续性定律预示了进化心理学，而预先设定的和谐则解决了心身相互作用的问题。康德在《纯粹理性批判》中的批判哲学区分了经验心理学（研究心理现象）与先验心理学（考察知识条件）。他拒绝将理性心理学视为诡辩，从而挑战了关于灵魂实体的主张；同时，他的范畴和直观形式为人类经验提供了普遍结构。
Nineteenth-century developments created modern scientific psychology. German universities fostered research integration. Johann Friedrich Herbart developed mathematical psychology quantifying mental representations’ interactions through threshold concepts. His educational psychology emphasized apperception—integrating new ideas with existing knowledge. Johannes Müller’s doctrine of specific nerve energies established that sensation quality depends on stimulated nerves, not stimulus properties. Hermann von Helmholtz measured nerve impulse speed, demonstrating physical processes underlie mental events. His empiricist theory of perception argued spatial perception develops through experience, not innate intuition.
19世纪的发展催生了现代科学心理学。德国大学推动了研究的整合。约翰•弗里德里希•赫尔巴特发展了数学心理学，通过阈值概念量化心理表征之间的相互作用。他的教育心理学强调统觉——将新观念与现有知识相整合。约翰内斯•缪勒的特定神经能量学说确立了感觉质量取决于被刺激的神经，而非刺激本身的属性。赫尔曼•冯•亥姆霍兹测量了神经冲动的速度，证明物理过程是心理事件的基础。他的经验主义知觉理论认为，空间知觉是通过经验发展而来的，而非先天直觉。
Psychophysics, founded by Gustav Fechner, quantified mind-body relationships. Fechner’s Elements of Psychophysics established methods (just noticeable differences, constant stimuli, average error) measuring sensation intensity relative to stimulus strength. His logarithmic law (S = k log I) expressed mathematical relationship, though later research modified it. Weber’s earlier work on differential thresholds provided foundation.
心理物理学由古斯塔夫•费希纳创立，它量化了心身关系。费希纳的《心理物理学纲要》确立了测量感觉强度与刺激强度之间关系的方法（如最小可觉差、等距刺激法、平均误差法）。他的对数定律（S = k log I）表达了数学关系，尽管后来的研究对其进行了修正。韦伯关于差别阈限的早期工作为此奠定了基础。
Evolutionary theory revolutionized psychology. Herbert Spencer applied evolution to mind before Darwin, proposing mental development follows evolutionary principles. Darwin’s Expression of Emotions in Animals and Man argued emotional expressions evolved from adaptive behaviors, suggesting mental continuity across species. Comparative psychology flourished under Romanes and Lloyd Morgan, though anthropomorphism criticisms arose. Morgan’s canon urged explaining behavior through simplest possible psychological processes.
进化论彻底改变了心理学。赫伯特•斯宾塞在达尔文之前就将进化论应用于心灵，提出心理发展遵循进化原则。达尔文的《人类和动物的情绪表达》认为情绪表达起源于适应性行为，暗示不同物种间存在心理连续性。比较心理学在罗曼斯和劳埃德•摩根的推动下蓬勃发展，尽管期间出现了对拟人化的批评。摩根法则主张通过最简单的心理过程来解释行为。
Experimental psychology institutionalized through Wilhelm Wundt’s Leipzig laboratory (1879). Wundt’s Voluntarism combined experimental methods studying immediate conscious experience with Völkerpsychologie examining higher processes through cultural products. His structuralism aimed to analyze consciousness into elements (sensations, feelings) and their connections. Methodological introspection under controlled conditions generated data, though subjectivity criticisms persisted. Wundt’s American student Edward Titchener developed more rigid structuralism, while opposition grew.
实验心理学通过威廉•冯特在莱比锡的实验室（1879年）得以制度化。冯特的 voluntarism（意动心理学）将研究即时意识经验的实验方法与通过文化产物考察高级心理过程的Völkerpsychologie（民族心理学）相结合。他的结构主义旨在将意识分析为元素（感觉、情感）及其联系。在受控条件下的方法论内省产生了数据，尽管主观性批评一直存在。冯特的美国学生爱德华•铁钦纳发展了更为僵化的结构主义，而反对声音也逐渐增长。
William James’s Principles of Psychology (1890) offered alternative functionalist approach. Rejecting structuralism, James viewed consciousness as stream serving adaptive functions. His emotion theory (James-Lange) reversed commonsense sequence: bodily changes precede emotional feelings. Habit formation received mechanistic explanation as neural pathways strengthen through use. James’s self-theory distinguished material, social, and spiritual selves with pure ego experiencing continuity.
威廉•詹姆斯的《心理学原理》（1890年）提出了另一种机能主义方法。他摒弃了构造主义，将意识视为一种服务于适应功能的流。他的情绪理论（詹姆斯-朗格理论）颠倒了常识中的顺序：身体变化先于情绪感受。习惯形成得到了机械论的解释，即神经通路通过使用而增强。詹姆斯的自我理论区分了物质自我、社会自我和精神自我，其中纯粹的自我体验到连续性。
Other schools diversified psychology. Franz Brentano’s act psychology focused on intentionality—mental acts’ reference to objects. This phenomenological approach influenced later Gestalt and humanistic psychology. Gestalt psychologists like Wertheimer, Köhler, and Koffka rejected elementism, emphasizing organized wholes’ primacy. Their laws of perceptual organization (proximity, similarity, continuity, closure) described inherent structuring tendencies. Insight learning studies demonstrated problem-solving through reorganization rather than trial-and-error.
其他学派对心理学进行了多元化发展。弗朗茨•布伦塔诺的活动心理学聚焦于意向性——即心理活动对对象的指向性。这种现象学方法影响了后来的格式塔心理学和人本主义心理学。像魏特海默、苛勒和考夫卡这样的格式塔心理学家拒绝元素主义，强调整体组织的首要性。他们提出的知觉组织定律（邻近性、相似性、连续性、闭合性）描述了内在的结构化倾向。顿悟学习研究则表明，问题解决是通过重新组织而非试错来实现的。
Applied psychology expanded rapidly. Alfred Binet developed intelligence testing for Paris schools, creating concept of mental age. His tests, modified by Terman as Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, launched psychometrics. Clinical psychology emerged through Lightner Witmer’s psychological clinic (1896) treating learning disabilities. Industrial psychology began with Hugo Münsterberg’s work on employee selection and efficiency. Educational psychology developed through Thorndike’s learning laws (readiness, exercise, effect).
应用心理学迅速发展。阿尔弗雷德•比奈为巴黎的学校开发了智力测试，创造了心理年龄的概念。他的测试经推孟修改为斯坦福-比奈智力量表，从而开启了心理测量学。临床心理学通过莱特纳•维特默于1896年开设的心理诊所应运而生，该诊所专门治疗学习障碍。工业心理学始于雨果•闵斯特伯格在员工选拔和效率方面的工作。教育心理学则通过桑代克试误学习定律（准备律、练习律、效果律）的发展而逐步形成。
Physiological psychology advanced through brain research. Paul Broca’s aphasia studies (1861) localized speech production in left frontal lobe, while Carl Wernicke identified comprehension area. These clinical-pathological methods established cerebral localization. David Ferrier’s electrical stimulation experiments mapped motor cortex, though holistic reactions persisted. Ivan Pavlov’s conditioning research, initially digestive studies, discovered learned associations between neutral stimuli and reflexive responses. His distinction between unconditioned and conditioned responses, plus concepts like extinction and generalization, provided objective behavior foundations.
生理心理学通过脑科学研究取得了进展。保罗•布罗卡（1861年）的失语症研究将言语产生定位在左额叶，而卡尔•韦尼克则确定了语言理解区域。这些临床病理学方法确立了大脑功能的定位原则。大卫•费雷尔通过电刺激实验绘制了运动皮层图谱，尽管整体反应现象仍然存在。伊万•巴甫洛夫最初的研究是关于消化过程，其条件反射研究发现了中性刺激与反射性反应之间的习得关联。他区分了非条件反射和条件反射，并提出了消退、泛化等概念，为客观行为主义奠定了基础。
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, though controversial within academic psychology, profoundly influenced psychological thought. His topographic model (conscious, preconscious, unconscious) and structural model (id, ego, superego) described mental organization. Defense mechanisms like repression and projection explained symptom formation, while psychosexual development stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) charted personality development. Dream interpretation via symbolism and free association accessed unconscious material. Though criticized for unscientific methods, Freud emphasized unconscious processes, childhood experiences, and psychological conflict.
西格蒙德•弗洛伊德的精神分析学虽然在学术心理学界颇具争议，但对心理学思想产生了深远影响。他的拓扑模型（意识、前意识、潜意识）和结构模型（本我、自我、超我）描述了心理组织结构。压抑、投射等防御机制解释了症状的形成，而心理性欲发展阶段（口唇期、肛门期、性器期、潜伏期、生殖期）则勾勒了人格发展的轨迹。通过象征意义解读和自由联想，精神分析能够触及潜意识内容。尽管其方法因缺乏科学性而受到批评，但弗洛伊德强调潜意识过程、童年经历和心理冲突的重要性。
Early twentieth-century schools competed for dominance. John B. Watson’s behaviorism rejected introspection entirely, advocating objective study of stimulus-response relationships. His 1913 manifesto “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” declared psychology’s goal as prediction and control of behavior. Behaviorist methods studied animals under controlled conditions, extrapolating to humans. While radical, behaviorism dominated American psychology for decades, emphasizing environmental determinants over heredity.
20世纪初的学校之间展开了对主导地位的竞争。约翰•B•华生的行为主义完全摒弃了内省，主张对刺激-反应关系进行客观研究。他在1913年的宣言《行为主义者眼中的心理学》中宣称，心理学的目标是预测和控制行为。行为主义方法在受控条件下研究动物，并将结果外推到人类身上。尽管这种观点激进，但行为主义在美国心理学界占据主导地位数十年，强调环境决定因素而非遗传因素。
Simultaneously, diverse approaches persisted. Gordon Allport’s personality psychology emphasized individual uniqueness against nomothetic laws. His trait theory distinguished between common and personal traits, later developing the lexical hypothesis. Humanistic psychology emerged in reaction to behaviorism and psychoanalysis, with Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Carl Rogers’s client-centered therapy emphasizing growth potential and subjective experience.
与此同时，多种研究方法持续存在。戈登•奥尔波特的人格心理学强调个体独特性，反对以普遍规律（nomothetic laws）来解释人格。他的特质理论区分了共同特质和个人特质，并后来发展出了词典假设（lexical hypothesis）。人本主义心理学作为对行为主义和精神分析的反应而兴起，亚伯拉罕•马斯洛的需求层次理论和卡尔•罗杰斯的来访者中心疗法强调人的成长潜能和主观体验。
Throughout these developments, persistent tensions characterized psychology: between natural science and humanistic approaches, between elementism and holism, between objectivity and subjectivity, between pure and applied research. These tensions reflected psychology’s dual inheritance from philosophy and physiology, its ambiguous position between biological and social sciences, and the peculiar challenges of studying subjective experience scientifically.
在这些发展过程中，心理学始终存在着持续的紧张关系：自然科学方法与人文主义方法之间的张力，元素主义与整体论之间的张力，客观性与主观性之间的张力，纯理论研究与应用研究之间的张力。这些紧张关系反映了心理学从哲学和生理学双重继承的遗产，它在生物科学与社会科学之间的模糊定位，以及以科学方式研究主观体验所面临的特殊挑战。
Brett’s historical analysis reveals psychology not as linear progress but as conceptual evolution with continuities and transformations. Ancient questions about mind, knowledge, and conduct persist, though addressed with increasingly sophisticated methods. The soul concept transformed into consciousness, then behavior, then information processing, yet fundamental concerns remain. Psychology’s history shows both accumulation of knowledge and periodic paradigm shifts where new approaches reconceptualize phenomena.
布雷特的历史分析表明，心理学并非线性进步，而是概念的演变，其中既有连续性也有转变。关于心灵、知识和行为的古老问题依然存在，只是用越来越复杂的方法来探讨。灵魂的概念演变为意识，再演变为行为，然后是信息处理，但根本性的关切依然未变。心理学的历史既展示了知识的积累，也经历了周期性的范式转变，在这些转变中，新的方法会重新定义现象。
The discipline’s development illustrates complex interactions between theory, method, and institutionalization. Theoretical innovations often preceded methodological advances, while institutional support (universities, laboratories, journals) enabled systematic research. Applications frequently drove theoretical development, as practical problems revealed theoretical limitations. Psychology’s fragmentation into schools reflects both genuine philosophical differences and sociology of knowledge factors.
该学科的发展体现了理论、方法与制度化之间的复杂互动。理论创新往往先于方法论的进步，而制度支持（如大学、实验室、期刊）则为系统性研究提供了可能。应用需求常常推动理论发展，因为实际问题会揭示理论的局限性。心理学的学派分裂既反映了真实的哲学分歧，也受到知识社会学因素的影响。
Cross-cultural perspectives, though underdeveloped in Brett’s time, reveal Western psychology’s distinctive features. Other traditions developed different conceptions of self, mind, and mental health. Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine created elaborate psychosomatic systems, while Buddhist psychology analyzed consciousness with remarkable sophistication. Modern psychology’s global spread involves both universalizing assumptions and cultural adaptations.
跨文化视角虽然在布雷特的时代尚未充分发展，却揭示了西方心理学的独特特征。其他文化传统则形成了不同的自我、心智和心理健康观念。阿育吠陀医学和传统中医构建了复杂的身心系统，而佛教心理学则以非凡的精妙分析了意识。现代心理学的全球传播既包含普适性假设，也涉及文化适应。
Psychology’s future directions continue historical trajectories. Neuroscience extends physiological psychology with advanced technologies, cognitive science revives structuralist questions with new methods, while qualitative approaches return to phenomenology with refined techniques. The persistent mind-body problem reemerges in consciousness studies, now informed by both philosophy and neurobiology. Applied fields proliferate, addressing new social needs while raising ethical questions.
心理学的未来发展方向延续了其历史轨迹。神经科学借助先进技术拓展了生理心理学的范畴，认知科学则运用新方法重新审视结构主义的问题，而定性研究方法则以更精细的技术回归现象学。持续存在的身心问题在意识研究中再度浮现，如今这一问题既受到哲学的启发，也得到神经生物学的支持。应用领域不断扩展，以应对新的社会需求，同时也引发了伦理方面的思考。
Brett’s work demonstrates that historical understanding enriches contemporary psychology by revealing assumptions, recovering alternatives, and providing perspective on current debates. Psychology’s identity as science remains contested precisely because its subject matter—human experience and behavior—resists reduction to any single methodology. The discipline’s vitality stems from its capacity to integrate multiple perspectives while advancing empirical knowledge.
布雷特的研究表明，历史理解通过揭示假设、恢复替代视角以及为当前辩论提供视角，丰富了当代心理学。心理学作为科学的身份仍然存在争议，这正是因为它所研究的对象——人类体验和行为——难以被单一方法论所简化。该学科的活力源于其整合多种视角的同时推进实证知识的能力。
The history of psychology thus represents not merely record of past errors and achievements but resource for future development. By understanding how current theories emerged from specific historical contexts, psychologists can better evaluate their strengths and limitations. By recovering forgotten approaches, they may find insights relevant to contemporary problems. By recognizing persistent tensions, they can navigate discipline’s continuing identity challenges more thoughtfully.
因此，心理学的历史不仅记录了过去的错误与成就，更是未来发展的资源。通过了解当前理论如何从特定的历史语境中产生，心理学家能够更好地评估其优势与局限。通过重拾被遗忘的方法，他们或许能发现与当代问题相关的见解。通过认识到持续存在的张力，他们可以更审慎地应对学科持续的身份挑战。
Psychology’s development from ancient philosophy to modern science represents one of humanity’s longest intellectual journeys. Each historical period contributed distinctive insights while facing characteristic limitations. The accumulation of these perspectives, despite their conflicts and contradictions, comprises psychology’s rich heritage. Future progress depends not on rejecting this heritage but on engaging it critically and creatively, building upon centuries of inquiry into human nature while remaining open to new questions and methods.
心理学从古代哲学发展到现代科学，代表了人类最长的智力探索历程之一。每个历史时期都贡献了独特的见解，同时也面临着特有的局限性。尽管这些观点存在冲突与矛盾，它们的积累构成了心理学丰富的遗产。未来的进步不在于拒绝这一遗产，而在于对其进行批判性且创造性的审视，在数世纪对人性的探究基础上，同时保持对新问题和新方法的开放态度。