The main differences between Psychology and Philosophy

It’s easy to confuse them
psychology and philosophy , perhaps because both can be applied in a wide variety of fields and address issues that go beyond what is material and constant over time. There is a vague notion that both can give advice and propose rules, guidelines and life lessons, but knowing where the field of study of one begins and where the other ends is not so simple.

However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t
clear lines that separate each of its realms of research and application . Here I propose six differences between psychology and philosophy that can serve to better orient you in this type of questions.

Philosophy and psychology: different realities, different modes of study

1. They are learned differently

The teaching of psychology is based on methodologies in which very specific tools are embedded and which go far beyond the careful reading of texts: experimentation with volunteers, observation of body parts with a microscope, use of statistical programs, etc.

Philosophy, although it can also make use of certain instruments such as those mentioned above,
does not have such a broad consensus as to which methodologies to follow .

2. They investigate with different methodologies

One of the main differences between psychology and philosophy is found in the methodology used in each.
Philosophy is independent of the scientific method , since it works more with conceptual categories and the relationship that is established between them, and therefore can use practically any instrument and method for its investigations. Psychology , on the other hand, relies on empiricism to develop hypotheses about the behaviour and perception of human beings. Therefore, quantitative research (especially experimental research) and statistics are of great importance in psychological research, which means that taking small steps in the knowledge of the psyche is expensive and involves many people.

3. Their objectives are different

Classically, philosophy has had
intellectual purposes , and its main goal has been the creation of categories and philosophical systems that serve to explain reality (or realities) in the best possible way. Philosophy tends to study a whole, rather than specific components of reality. It can also serve as a tool for collective emancipation, as proposed by some philosophical currents inherited from Marxism, and therefore addresses the usefulness of certain cultural and interpretative frameworks for understanding reality.

Psychology, despite having a multitude of applications, marks a
object of study more specific: human behaviour and its emotional and subjective dimension . Therefore, their hypotheses and theories always start from the human body or the subjectivity of people, alone or in relation to each other. He almost never addresses the search for a reality that is totally alien to the existence of people, something that historically has occurred in some philosophical proposals.

4. They use different languages

Much of psychology consists of research using the scientific method, and therefore seeks to
empirical bases that help her to propose theoretical models well received by the scientific community. As a consequence, agreement is constantly being sought on the meaning of the words, in order to speed up research in certain areas and so that various researchers from various areas of the world can collaborate in the same line of research.

Philosophy, on the other hand,
can be found in philosophical systems formulated by a single person . That is why the main personalities in philosophy use a personal and idiosyncratic language, not agreed with the others, and the same word or expression can mean very different things depending on the philosopher who formulates it. Students of philosophy need to dedicate a lot of study time to each of the authors before they can understand what they are referring to in each case.

5. Philosophy soaks up everything, psychology is specific

Philosophy provides all sciences with the analytical categories from which to study reality, while it need not be affected by scientific discoveries. But philosophy goes beyond science and began to exist before science. In fact,
In writing this text I am doing something more similar to philosophy than to psychology , because I am deciding from which perspective to approach each of the concepts, which aspects to highlight and which to omit.

The
scientific psychology , as it is part of one of the different layers of science, is crossed by these philosophical debates that do not have to be part of the matter it intends to study.

6. Philosophy addresses morality, psychology does not

Philosophy wants to explain everything that can be explained, and this includes studying the right ways to behave. That is why many of the great thinking minds in this discipline have offered their ways of understanding the categories of “good” and “bad.

Psychology is kept out of this kind of debate and, in any case,
will give information about what kind of behaviours can be useful to approach a goal . In addition, a researcher may investigate the psychological foundations behind the different types of morals in different cultures, but will not study the morals themselves but their origins. In addition, contributions from psychology can be used to propose the establishment of ethical scales and theories of morality.

If you are curious to know what Psychology and Philosophy are like , we recommend that you take a look at this article