Physiomorphism and the History of Psychology

Studies in the history of Psychology have advanced considerably since the mid-1970s. The perspectives and insights of contemporary history of science have been incorporated, and traditional ‘Whiggish’ and ‘internalise approaches largely left behind. Closer examination of the seventeenth-century situation in Britain reveals that it was not just the Cartesian move which was the inhibiting factor but a deeply-rooted notion of the nature of language itself. Although John Wilkins’ work represents the most extreme statement of this attitude to language it expressed a mood widespread among British Natural Philosophers, a mood which was a logical consequence of their impatience with the mystifying, multivalent, language of their predecessors. There can be little doubt that in terms of direct impact on psychological language, Psychoanalytic theory has been more influential than any other school of psychological thought. This chapter attempts to show how the physiomorphic perspective may be applied to the history of Psychology.