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Namah American psychology’s psychobiological perspective ...

nature, permits an objective and systematic our contemporary times.
way to Truth. However, the shortcoming
of this stage is its strict application of The age of the ethical and conventional
scientific principles to the individual human in Europe
being. Since science derives its probabilistic
knowledge from research on groups, it falls During the Middle Ages (500-1500 AD) of
short in its attempt to ameliorate human Europe, the ecclesiastical hierarchy inherited
existence as it imposes group-derived power, based on unquestioned dogma and
principles on the individual. Similar to the tradition, from the conventional and ethical
age of the ethical and conventional, this age age (5). During this time, reason and the
is also characterised by a society that employs physical sciences began to appear and pose
experts (now scientists) to decide what is best a threat to the ecclesiastical hierarchy. This
for the individual rather than the individual new intellectual knowledge, based on the
deciding for themselves. This stage is where natural world, was objective and permitted
American psychologylargely exists in the the establishment of laws that could not be
present day. distorted by one’s biases or individual
desires. This resulted in a weakening of
The fourth and final stage, the age of subjectivism the power of the ecclesiastical hierarchy as
and the spiritual, refers to a future time where their Aristotelian ideas were incompatible
1
individuals begin to engage in ways of with new findings. For example, Nicolaus
cognition that are supra-rational in nature. Copernicus published Six Books Concerning
Society begins to face the limitations that are the Rotations of Heavenly Orbs in 1543, thereby
associated with reason, such as its inability displacing the Aristotelian concept of a
to integrate apparently opposing ideas geocentric universe with a heliocentric universe
(e.g. two quarrelling political viewpoints or (6). On the social side, Martin Luther used
two contradictory scientific discoveries) reason to advocate for reform in response to
and its dry systematisation of life (e.g. an superstitious church dogma (e.g. the church
education system founded on large-scale permitting the financial purchase of salvation)
research that is not applicable to any single (7). Both of these events cast doubt on the
individual within the system). This results ecclesiastical hierarchy’s claims to power.
in a truncated happiness and, therefore, a
continued impulsion for the expansion of Several antecedents may have contributed
consciousness. In this stage, individuals to science’s initial threat to the ecclesiastical
contribute to society in a way that is consistent hierarchy’s rule, such as the foundation of
with their true individual self rather than for reason established by Ancient Greece and
others’ wishes (as seen in current economic technology developed in the Middle Ages (8).
systems). This stage may be exhibiting its first While the reason of Greece had existed for
movements within American psychology in several centuries, it was likely only accessible

1 In this case, spirituality does not refer to religion but rather to one’s subjective individual
essence and expression of it. Religion, of course, may be something that one engages in from
their spirituality, but the two are not the same.

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