THE MEANING OF PSYCHOLOGY
The word "psychology" is the combination of two terms – study (ology)
and soul (psyche), or mind. The derivation of the word from Latin
gives it this clear and obvious meaning:
The study of the soul or mind.
This meaning has been altered over the years until today, this is not
what the word means at all. The subject of psychology, as studied in
colleges and universities, currently has very little to do with the mind,
and absolutely nothing to do with the soul or spirit.
It is important to understand that words and ideas are supposed to
refer to something.
"The large tree in the front yard" refers to an actual thing that can be
seen, touched and experienced. "The man walking his little dog last
night at sunset" refers to an actual event that can be seen, observed
and experienced. The realm of mind is an actual realm that can be
experienced, and at one time there were words that accurately
referred to this realm.
Let’s see what a few dictionaries have to say and how a word could
alter and lose its true and actual meaning.
"Psyche" is defined as:
1. The spirit or soul.
2. The human mind.
3. In psychoanalysis, the mind functioning as the center of thought,
emotion, and behavior.
And defining "soul", we have:
1. the spiritual or immortal elements in a person.
2. a person’s mental or moral or emotional nature.
Most of us would agree we have a "psyche" per the above definitions
in the sense of mind, thought, and emotions. Most would also agree
they have a "soul" per the second definition above relating to man’s
mental, moral or emotional nature. We might all have different notions
about what these ultimately are, but few could sanely disagree they
exist.
The derivation of "psyche" comes from Latin and the Greek psukhe –
breath, life, soul. To get a better "feel" for this term try to think of it as
the invisible animating principle or entity that occupies, interacts with
and directs the physical body.
We are not dealing with opinions or beliefs here. This is simply what
the words and terms mean. Get clear on this first and understand
what the words and terms mean, before you start getting into the
opinions of others on the subject. If you choose to decide the "mind"
refers to nothing real after understanding what the words and
definitions mean, despite the fact that almost 10,000 years of thinking
men have seriously and carefully looked into this subject, and after no
real investigation on your own part, then that’s your decision.
Also, realize you will be basing this decision on "thinking" and
"reason", both of which are only subsidiary to and part of any one
mind, and neglecting to use a greater aspect of your mind – your
personal awareness and direct observation. Basing a decision on
what other people say about a mind involves only concepts and ideas
about a mind.
Observation involves experiencing the mind itself – your own mind.
When it comes to minds there is only one mind any of us can directly
observe or experience and that mind is our own. If you want to learn
about minds, the only place to start is with your own.
You cannot directly observe or experience the mind of another
person, at least not without some extrasensory ability such as
telepathy.
-DR. NAVRAJ SINGH SANDHU
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