courants et thèmes History of Psychology and Ancient Psychiatry

Vocabulary flashcards covering the historical origins of psychology, theories of memory, and the development of ancient psychiatry and medical thought.

Psychology

A discipline founded in the 19th century that combines biology (for method) and philosophy to propose a rational discourse based on scientific reflection.

Funerary Rites (100,000 BP)

Burial practices that appeared approximately 100,000 years ago, marking the emergence of self-consciousness, the concept of the self, and the fear of death.

Imaginary Function of Myth

The role of myth as an initiatory journey providing an imaginative explanation of the world to entertain and answer the existential fear of death.

Rational Function of Myth

The conceptual dimension of myth that serves as a foundation and catalyst for rational reflection and critical understanding of the world.

Non-Natural and Non-Necessary Desires

In Epicurean philosophy, desires that quickly cause weariness, lead to sickness, and constitute the pathological origin of addiction.

Three Levels of Roman Education

A memory-based educational sequence consisting of reading/writing, grammar and oratory exercises, and rhetoric to build broad general culture.

Memory in Greek Mythology

A divine entity counted among the seven fundamental gods, closely linked to truth, and revered as the mother of the nine Muses.

Pneuma (Aristotle)

The physiological energy that inscribes memories into the heart, conceptualized through the metaphor of a wax tablet.

Aviary Metaphor (Plato)

Plato's model illustrating memory acquisition and retrieval, comparing the process of memorizing to capturing and taming birds within a cage.

Natural Memory vs. Artificial Memory

The distinction between passive natural memory as an innate storage repository and active artificial memory (reminiscence) as acquired recall techniques.

Kliné

The Hippocratic clinical principle of evaluating a patient directly 'at the foot of the bed' through personal examination rather than remote prescriptions.

Theory of the Four Humors

Hippocrates' framework attributing mental illness to humoral imbalances, such as black bile overheating the brain (delirium) or phlegm cooling it (melancholy).

Herophilus

A Hellenistic physician who conducted anatomical observations of the cerebral ventricles and contributed to early pharmacology.

Asclepiades of Bithynia

An ancient physician credited with establishing the first psychopathology by identifying specific disease origins and designing systematic treatment protocols.

Celsus' Classification

A diagnostic scheme organizing mental illnesses by symptom categories into phrenitis, judgment disorders, and affective disorders.

Curatio Furiosorum

A medical text by Caelius Aurelianus detailing medical equipment, diagnostic classifications, etiological explanations, and patient care for madness.

Phrenitis

The oldest documented mental illness, described as an acute biological impairment resulting from an atomic reorganization and humoral disequilibrium.

Mania

A form of madness rooted primarily in social and legal norms with little bodily basis, categorized as an illness only late in medical history.

Melancholy

An affective disorder mythologically linked to the venom of the Lernaean Hydra, presenting as total apathy and treated through philosophical self-governance.

Diaphragm (Ancient Greek Anatomy)

The anatomical divide regarded by ancient Greeks as a protective barrier separating the divine upper torso from the vile lower body.

Antiphon of Athens

A materialist thinker regarded as the father of talk therapy, who conceptualized mental disturbance as a disruption of atomic equilibrium.

Three Modes of Ancient Medical Action

The tripartite treatment framework consisting of surgery (e.g., bloodletting), medication (pharmacological agents), and regimen (lifestyle, nutrition, and exercise).

Saint Ambrose

The prominent Christian thinker in Milan whose teachings heavily influenced Saint Augustine and shaped Western theological thought for 1,000 years.

Psychology

A discipline founded in the 19th century that unites biology (for method) and philosophy to formulate a rational discourse based on scientific reflection.

Self-awareness (Conscience de soi)

The conscious realization of one's own existence and finitude that emerged approximately 100,000 years ago, evidenced by the first graves and funerary rites.

Imaginary function of myth

The role of myth as an initiatory journey that explains the world and provides entertainment.

Rational function of myth

The role of myth as a source of reflection on the world and a framework for establishing essential balance.

Non-natural and non-necessary desires

In Epicurean philosophy, the third category of desires which easily leads to weariness, produces illness, and forms the root of addiction and pathology.

Three levels of Roman education

The educational framework in Rome comprising: 1. Reading and writing, 2. Grammar and oratory exercises, and 3. Rhetoric grounded in broad general culture.

Pneuma

In Aristotle's theory of memory, the vital energy responsible for inscribing memories into the heart.

Wax tablet metaphor

The metaphor used by Aristotle to illustrate how memories are imprinted and preserved.

Aviary metaphor

Plato's metaphor for memory acquisition and retrieval, comparing the process of memorizing to taming a bird within a cage.

Natural memory

A passive, innate storage system for impressions, contrasted with active artificial recollection.

Artificial memory (Reminiscence)

An active retrieval process developed through deliberate techniques and knowledge, as described by Cicero.

Kliné

The clinical principle introduced by Hippocrates emphasizing direct examination of the patient at the bedside rather than dispensing instructions from afar.

Theory of humors

The medical theory proposed by Hippocrates stating that mental illnesses arise from an imbalance among the body's four humors.

Black bile

The bodily humor associated with overheating the brain and causing delirium or frenzied states.

Phlegm

The bodily humor associated with cooling the brain and inducing melancholia.

Herophilus

An anatomist of the Hellenistic period who observed the cerebral ventricles and contributed to the beginnings of pharmacology.

Asclepiades of Bithynia

An ancient physician who developed the first psychopathology by identifying origins of diseases and creating structured clinical protocols.

Celsus' classification of mental illness

A symptom-based diagnostic system categorizing mental disorders into phrenitis, judgment disorders, and affective disorders.

Curatio furiosorum

A medical treatise by Caelius Aurelianus detailing medical tools, disease classification, theoretical origins, and clinical management.

Phrenitis

The earliest described mental disorder, defined as a mental affliction resulting from an acute biological impairment and atomic reorganization of the body.

Mania

A condition viewed historically through social and legal frameworks with little biological basis, linked to illness only late by Asclepiades, Caelius, and Celsus.

Melancholia

An affective disorder characterized by total apathy, mythically tied to the venomous bile of the Hydra of Lerna and treated through philosophical care.

Diaphragm (in ancient Greek thought)

The anatomical partition thought to function as a barrier separating the divine upper body from the base or vile lower body.

Antiphon of Athens

A materialist thinker influenced by Epicurean philosophy, recognized as the pioneer of the talking cure (treatment through speech).

Three modes of action in ancient medicine

The triad of medical interventions consisting of surgery (bloodletting, scarification), medication (pharmaceuticals, therapeutic foods), and regimen (diet, exercise, and conduct).

Saint Ambrose

The prominent Christian thinker in Milan who influenced Saint Augustine and constructed a system of thought that remained dominant for 1,000 years.