Short description:

Volume One of The History of Psychology through Symbol provides a groundbreaking approach by expanding the roots of psychology beyond the Greeks to concurrent events during the same period (800 BCE-200 BCE) defined as the Axial Age by German-Swiss psychiatrist Karl Jaspers.

Long description:

Volume One of The History of Psychology through Symbols provides a groundbreaking approach by expanding the roots of psychology beyond the Greeks to concurrent events during the same period (800 BCE?200 BCE), defined as the Axial Age by German-Swiss psychiatrist Karl Jaspers.

The Axial Age emphasized seeking the universal connection that unites all humanity, a focus not on what one believed, but how one lived. This includes the human desire to connect to something greater, the totality of being human, explained by using symbols, the universal language. This volume describes the psychological implications of the Axial Age through the developments of Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Daoism, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, as well as Greek thought. Rooted in the Axial Age, Volume One explores how the Christian and Islamic eras influenced psychology, which resulted in the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution, which provided the historic roots of modern psychology. Rejecting the idea that science transcends historical events, this volume provides a political, socioeconomic, and cultural context for all the historic developments. The chapter on the history of mental illness provides inspiration for a new mental health system with specific recommendations for radical system reform. In the spirit of the Axial Age on the importance of how one lives, there is an emphasis on engagement with symbols and with specific exercises, called emancipatory opportunities, to apply the lessons of psychological history to daily life.

This book is ideal for those seeking a dynamic and engaging way of learning about or teaching the history of psychology and would also be of interest to students, practitioners, and scholars of science, philosophy, history and systems, religious studies, art, and mental health and drug and alcohol treatment, as well as those interested in applying the lessons of history to daily life.

Learn more about this groundbreaking text and its symbols on the special website: www.psychologyandsymbols.com. 

?Jim Broderick?s The History of Psychology through Symbols is a radically original and deeply thoughtful way of creatively reimagining a story that we tend to see as humdrum and all-too familiar.?

Christine Downing, author of Mythopoetic Musings.

?Long fascinated by the analysis of myth, symbol, and storytelling in understanding the human psyche, I approached The History of Psychology through Symbols by Jim Broderick with great interest. I was rewarded with an incredibly original, evocative, and encyclopaedic yet highly readable work that employs the very medium he analyzes ? the experience and meaning of symbols. Charting its political, historical, and socioeconomic evolution, Dr. Broderick invites the reader to explore the power of symbol from the earliest religions to modern psychology. It is with great pleasure that I recommend this book to all who share the enchantment of the symbol-producing brain.?

John C. Robinson, PhD, DMin, author of Death of a Hero, Birth of the Soul; What Aging Men Want: The Odyssey as a Parable of Male Aging; Bedtime Stories for Elders: What Fairy Tales Can Teach Us About the New Aging.

?Dr. Broderick?s History of Psychology through Symbols does exactly what we would want from a history of psychology book, it awakens our faith in the future. As a lover of history and teacher of the history of psychology, I have wanted a textbook that offers a rich description of psychological history but that is also inspirational and engaging, showing us (clinicians, educators, depth practitioners) opportunities to move into a shared, creative future. His analysis integrates the history of individual experience within a cultural context that accounts for the emancipatory interests of genuine science while maintaining the creative energies necessary to help psychology find its own voice amongst other important disciplines. His writing style is fluid, compelling, and inviting all at the same time. This is truly a user-friendly approach to our shared history and is much needed. It is an encyclopaedia without sounding like one.?

Peter T. Dunlap, PhD. Awakening our Faith in the Future: The Advent of Psychological Liberalism. Co-chair Clinical Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute. Carpinteria, California, USA.

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Table of Contents:

1. History of Psychology through Symbols: From Reflective Study to Active Engagement

2. Symbols of the Axial Age: The Age of Psychological Transformation

3. Symbols of the Greek Era: The Foundation of Western Psychology

4. Symbols of the Hellenistic, Christian, and Islamic Eras

5. Symbols of Psychological Rebirth during the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment

6. The Symbols of the History of Mental Illness: Past, Present, and a New Vision for the Future