Question

For this assignment consider the following quote by Hermann Ebbinghaus, and write about 250 words explaining its meaning: "Psychology has a long past but only a short story"

Answer 1

"Psychology has a long past but only a short story"

                Hermann Ebbinghaus, an experimental psychologist, was famous for the first line in his general textbook of psychology. His first line in his book was “Psychology has a long past but only a short history.” (Ebbinghaus, 1908). This line implied the affirmation and declaration of independence of modern and scientific psychology from the old and mere-speculating psychology. “Long past” meant that psychology, the study of human behavior and mental processes, has been around ever since the beginning. However, it was not studied the way it’s studied now. “Long past” referred to the era wherein psychology was laid out by Plato and Aristotle. It was more linked with rationalism, which relies on reason and intuition. According to Ebbinghaus, old psychology had no progressive development. It was stagnant and cannot be expounded further. It was not until the end of the 19th century that German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt established the first laboratory dedicated to experimental psychology. Modern psychology was recently considered a science and used empiricism, instead of rationalism. By this time, psychology finally had a story and history, although short, which also meant that there was finally change and cumulative development. Modern psychology now has a broad range of topics and areas of study. It has contributed a great deal of research, which made people understand human phenomena better.

-Psychology major