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Ancient histories have brought us foundational principles which are still active today in therapeutic consulting rooms, with or without critical attention to them, and with important consequences for how we care for others.  For instance, whether the self is a think or a process, how the relation of matter and form, or physicality and spirit, shape how we understand body and mind, whether causation is inherent as a law of nature or imposed on it, the relation of inner experience and the objective world, and what is considered the good life. Pick one ancient concept, whether Western, Eastern, Caribbean, African, Indigenous, and discussion how you see it ‘live’ today. 




Steve’s respond to the post 

There are a number of interesting connections between ancient philosophies and the modern philosophical notions of psychology. One that initially stands out to me is the connection between the profound philosophies of the Vedics and Western psychology.

In the ancient Vedic texts of India there is much discussion around the complexity of the spirit, and the manifestation of the mind. In that tradition it’s believed that there are four fundamental elements to the mind: Ego; Unconscious; Senses; Conscience. This tradition is believed to go back to at least 3,000BCE (Rama, 2007).

In Sanskrit, ahamkara is most closely translated as “I-maker” (in Western culture, ego is the most apt translation),In Sanskrit, ahamkara is most closely translated as “I-maker” (in Western culture, ego is the most apt translation), and its functionality within the mind manifests the possibility to see the world from the dualistic perspective (Perlmutter, 2005). Because of the ahamkara, there is the possibility for there to be a ‘me’, and ‘world’ for interaction. Otherwise, according to the philosophy, there would never be a notion of a self, or even the perception that anything is other than unified – taken to its most extreme, there wouldn’t even be language because there would be no inclination to communicate individualistic ideas; this is also referred to by both Aristotle and Aquainas, and this sense of being is what is the root of the traumas that Western psychology seeks to remedy (Scalambrino, 2018, p. 35).  In Western psychology we can see the use of the word ‘ego’, most obviously in the Freudian use. It isn’t necessarily used in the same context as the Vedics, however similar elements of individuality, the rise of fear, and selfishness to align with the Vedic use (Rama, 2007).

Within the unconscious mind, or chitta, lies all of our past habits and conditioning, along with our evolutionary responses (Perlmutter, 2005, pp. 279 ). With the Jungian perspectives we see the use of the unconscious, which for all intents and purposes aligns rather well with the Vedic use of the word. What is more, we can consider evidence of this in Behaviorist theory as well, where the unconscious responses to the external world being largely determined as a result of conditioning, be it from a conditioned or unconditioned stimulus.

Manas, to some extent is considered our movement towards that which is pleasurable and our repulsion from that which is not. While using the sense, manas (also considered mind in some translations) navigates the content of our experiences and presents the findings for consideration by the other functions of the mind (Perlmutter, 2005). In a rough translation, you might be able to find comparisons to ‘logos’ in the Aristotelian sense, or the application of his value of principles, but in Vedic philosophy, the process of applying logic is determined more by the ahamkara, chitta, or buddhi (Scalambrino, 2018, pp. 33).

Buddhi is the higher conscience in the Vedic tradition. This could compare to the Freudian super-ego in a certain sense, but it’s important to acknowledge that buddhi is not a culturally relative conscience (Perlmutter, 2005). It’s a higher conscience that reflects the wisdom of the soul, which derives its power from the One, Divinity, Brahma, God-head (Rama, 2007, pp. 230). Certain elements of the Jungian archetypes might reflect buddhi traits. The voice of the buddhi can be heard, guiding the person towards the words and actions that help lead to individuation, self-actualization, awakening, enlightenment. This theory is also evident in Wilber’s Great Nest of Being, as we navigate from the material world towards the spiritual, non-dualistic (Wilber, 1999, pp. 2)



REFERENCES

Perlmutter, L., & Perlmutter, J. C. (2005). The Heart And Science of Yoga: A Blueprint for Peace, Happiness And Freedom from Fear. Averill Park, N.Y: AMI Publishers.

Rama, S. (2007). Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad-Gita. Honesdale, Pa: Himalayan Institute Press.

Scalambrino, F. (2018). Philosophical Principles of the History and Systems of Psychology: Essential Distinctions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Walsh, R. T. G., Teo, T. & Baydala, A. (2014). A critical history and philosophy of psychology: Diversity of context, thought and practice. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-0521691260

Wilber, K. (1999). Spirituality and Developmental Lines: Are There Stages? The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 31(1), 1–10.