Philosophy is the mother of all sciences. Let us deal with the specialty we are dealing with and whatever the object of study, just as philosophy is based on the search for truth and knowledge, or its practical application. Thus, it is frequent that we find concepts and perspectives coming from philosophical thought in scientific theories.

One of the best known and most important classical philosophers is Socrates , whose contributions have contributed to the generation of different techniques and ways of thinking about the functioning of the world and the mind. In this article we will see some of Socrates’ main contributions to Psychology.

Socrates, the philosopher

One of the greatest Greek philosophers (in fact philosophers before him are sometimes called pre-Socratics), Socrates was born in Athens during 470 BC. , from a midwife’s mother and a sculptor’s father. Although the details of his life are dubious, the various writings indicate that this man from a humble family possessed a great deal of ingenuity from childhood, training in different disciplines such as literature and music. His participation in different wars as an infantryman, such as the Peloponnesian war, is known, and he married a woman named Xantipa.

With regard to his thought as a philosopher, Socrates stood out for focusing his attention on the field of morals and ethics . He considered that human beings tend towards the good and that every vice is a product of ignorance. He believed that good, love, kindness and ethics were based on universal definitions. This position was opposed to the relativism advocated by the Sophists. He also believed that the philosopher must seek wisdom in virtue, and that it is necessary to recognize one’s own ignorance in order to attain it.

He did not consider himself to be wise, and considered that most people believed they knew more than they actually did. Therefore, used irony and dialogue in order to expose the contradictions of his interlocutors and make others see the level of knowledge they actually possessed.

His thought

In spite of believing in the existence of universal definitions, he is considered a precursor of inductism, in the sense that he considered that universal concepts should be obtained from the simple to the complex, from the particular to the general . Each person must ask himself his own questions and form his own way of seeing the world, reaching an ever greater understanding of its functioning.

Also is famous for its use of mayeutics , which is based on answering other people’s questions with other questions so that the individual can elaborate his own answer.

This philosopher did not write or transcribe his reflections as he considered that each individual should form his own ideas. His work has reached us through the different disciples, and especially through Plato, who reflected and deepened his work in some of the concepts stipulated by Socrates .

Socrates was tried and sentenced to death by poisoning with hemlock , accused of corrupting young people and not accepting the deities of the Athenians. He died in 470 B.C.

Socrates’ contributions to psychology

The progressive advance of science and its search for objectivity may make it difficult for many to observe the relationship between the current state of matter, in this case psychology and philosophy. However, Socrates’ contributions to this and other sciences are of great value and importance. Below we indicate some of these contributions.

1. Interest in the psyche

Socrates and his disciple Plato worked and reflected on the existence of the psyche, what they considered the soul . The influence of this fact on the current science of psychology is evident, its birth being the product of reflection on the contents of our mind derived from these and other authors…

2. Ethics and Morals

Socrates focused his thinking on ethics and morality. The behavior of the individual in society and the formation of patterns of behavior, attitudes and values are some of the many aspects with which psychology deals.

Inductive method

Socrates is considered one of the forerunners when it comes to the creation of the inductive method, as he tried to make people access to the knowledge of truth through their experience instead of starting from supposed and assumed knowledge. This method is in turn of great importance when generating the scientific method, characterized by hypothetical-deductive reasoning.

4. Socratic method

The Socratic dialogue is a strategy based on the mayeutics of Socrates that is still used even today in the practice of psychology, being basic in multiple therapies. It is based on asking inductive questions: the therapist asks different questions with the aim of making the subject reflect and find his or her own answer to the question.

5. Precursor of constructivism

Constructivism is based on the creation of knowledge through the generation of shared knowledge which in turn depends on the subject being able to give meaning to the material learned. Socrates considered that one should teach not what to think, but how to do it . This consideration is linked to the search for constructivism in which the student generates his own learning process, thanks to the application of various aids offered by the medium. Thus, as Socrates proposed, the teacher should help the student to generate his or her own knowledge.

6. Using Irony: Confrontation

Socrates was characterized by the use, in his dialectical method, of irony . The aim was to make the subject see that he considered himself to be wise in the contradictions existing in his discourse and to refute his biased arguments in order to make him aware of his true level of knowledge.

In therapy, a similar strategy is sometimes used, the confrontation , in which the subject is exposed to the existing contradictions in his discourse or between his discourse and his behaviour in order to make him aware of them.