Psyche
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(′sī·kē)
(psychology) The mind or self as a functional entity.
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An ancient Greek word meaning soul or mind. In addition to psychology and related terms, several sporting expressions are derived from the word ‘psyche’. These include ‘psyching-up’ and being ‘psyched-out’.
Psyching-up is a motivational strategy used in sport to increase arousal so that a competitor responds more readily to the demands of competition. It often takes the form of an exhortation from a coach or manager to try harder (see also pep talk). Sometimes, the exhortation is too stimulating. The competitor becomes over-aroused and even anxious, resulting in a disturbance of mental balance, known as being ‘psyched-out’. This usually leads to poorer performances. Psyching-out is also sometimes attempted by competitors who try to make their opponents over-aroused by purposely irritating them. See also catastrophe theory.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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psyche
noun
- The vital principle or animating force within living beings: breath, divine spark, élan vital, life force, soul, spirit, vital force, vitality. See body/spirit.
- The thought processes characteristic of an individual or group: ethos, mentality, mind, mindset, psychology. Idioms: what makes someone tick. See thoughts.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
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psyche
n
Definition: innermost self; personality
Antonyms: body, physicality
An ancient Greek word meaning soul or mind, it often refers to the mental as opposed to the physical aspects of an individual.
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The Greek word psyche, from which our terms 'the psyche' and 'psychology' derive, is generally translated as 'soul', but the translation is in several respects misleading. Psyche is intimately connected to the notion of life: all and only living things possess a psyche; and to have a psyche is to be alive. (To have a psyche is to be empsuchos, and empsuchos is appropriately translated by 'animate'. Note that 'animate' derives from the Latin anima, which, like psyche, is conventionally Englished as 'soul'.) Thus a psyche is a principle of life, or an 'animator'. In addition, a psyche is a principle of individuality for living things; that is to say, anything that possesses my psyche is the very same living thing as I am — Socrates and Socrates' psyche are identical. The psyche, in sum, is the living self.
Different Greek thinkers offered different accounts of the nature of psyche: most of the Pre-Socratic philosophers were materialists, primitive or sophisticated — they held that psyche was a special portion of air or fire, or perhaps a special parcel of particles or atoms. Plato supposed that the psyche was an entity quite distinct from such crass corporeal stuffs: his view of the nature of psyche is comparable to Descartes' notion of the soul as a separate spiritual substance.
Of all Greek theories, that of Aristotle is the most refined (though some of its features are anticipated in Philolaus' doctrine that the psyche is an attunement). Aristotle offers two connected definitions of psyche. The first, couched in the terminology of his metaphysics, runs thus: 'If we are to say something which applies in common to every psyche, it will be the first actuality of a natural organic body.' (Roughly speaking, he means that to have a psyche is to be a natural body, equipped with the organs of life, and capable of functioning.) His second definition reads as follows: 'A psyche is a principle of the aforesaid things [i.e. of the various faculties of living things] and is defined by them — by the faculties of nutrition, perception, thought, and motion.' (Roughly: to have a psyche is to be capable of self-nourishment — including growth and reproduction — of perception, of thought, and of independent motion; or, rather, to have a psyche is to have at least some of those capacities.)
Aristotle's first definition emphasizes the connection between psyche and the body; his second definition indicates the existence of interdependent psychic 'parts' or faculties — and those faculties, in Aristotle's view, turn out to be hierarchically ordered. Both definitions fit well with Aristotle's predominantly biological and physiological approach to the notion of psyche (though it is a celebrated and perplexing aspect of his psychology that thinking, or some special type of thinking, is to some extent untouched by corporeal contamination).
In one important respect at least, the Greek notion of 'psychology' is strikingly different from the modern notion. For the Greeks, all living things, including plants and the lower animals, have, by definition, a psyche, so that the general study of 'psychology' will aspire to give a unified account of all that distinguishes animate from inanimate objects. Modern psychologists may be said, at the risk of oversimplification, to deal with 'the mind': for the Greeks, the primary distinction is between what is alive and what is not alive (and the primary problem is the connection between living and non-living matter); for the moderns, the primary distinction is between what possesses mind and what does not (and the primary problem is the connection between 'the mental' and 'the physical'). Despite that fundamental difference, the particular problems discussed by ancient psychologists frequently overlap with those of their modern successors; but the difference is significant — and it prompts an intriguing question: did the ancient Greeks hit upon a more fruitful and unitary way than ours for tackling the problems of the mind?
(Published 1987)
Different Greek thinkers offered different accounts of the nature of psyche: most of the Pre-Socratic philosophers were materialists, primitive or sophisticated — they held that psyche was a special portion of air or fire, or perhaps a special parcel of particles or atoms. Plato supposed that the psyche was an entity quite distinct from such crass corporeal stuffs: his view of the nature of psyche is comparable to Descartes' notion of the soul as a separate spiritual substance.
Of all Greek theories, that of Aristotle is the most refined (though some of its features are anticipated in Philolaus' doctrine that the psyche is an attunement). Aristotle offers two connected definitions of psyche. The first, couched in the terminology of his metaphysics, runs thus: 'If we are to say something which applies in common to every psyche, it will be the first actuality of a natural organic body.' (Roughly speaking, he means that to have a psyche is to be a natural body, equipped with the organs of life, and capable of functioning.) His second definition reads as follows: 'A psyche is a principle of the aforesaid things [i.e. of the various faculties of living things] and is defined by them — by the faculties of nutrition, perception, thought, and motion.' (Roughly: to have a psyche is to be capable of self-nourishment — including growth and reproduction — of perception, of thought, and of independent motion; or, rather, to have a psyche is to have at least some of those capacities.)
Aristotle's first definition emphasizes the connection between psyche and the body; his second definition indicates the existence of interdependent psychic 'parts' or faculties — and those faculties, in Aristotle's view, turn out to be hierarchically ordered. Both definitions fit well with Aristotle's predominantly biological and physiological approach to the notion of psyche (though it is a celebrated and perplexing aspect of his psychology that thinking, or some special type of thinking, is to some extent untouched by corporeal contamination).
In one important respect at least, the Greek notion of 'psychology' is strikingly different from the modern notion. For the Greeks, all living things, including plants and the lower animals, have, by definition, a psyche, so that the general study of 'psychology' will aspire to give a unified account of all that distinguishes animate from inanimate objects. Modern psychologists may be said, at the risk of oversimplification, to deal with 'the mind': for the Greeks, the primary distinction is between what is alive and what is not alive (and the primary problem is the connection between living and non-living matter); for the moderns, the primary distinction is between what possesses mind and what does not (and the primary problem is the connection between 'the mental' and 'the physical'). Despite that fundamental difference, the particular problems discussed by ancient psychologists frequently overlap with those of their modern successors; but the difference is significant — and it prompts an intriguing question: did the ancient Greeks hit upon a more fruitful and unitary way than ours for tackling the problems of the mind?
(Published 1987)
— Jonathan Barnes
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(seye-kee)
The mind, soul, or spirit, as opposed to the body. In psychology, the psyche is the center of thought, feeling, and motivation, consciously and unconsciously directing the body's reactions to its social and physical environment.
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Psyche (psychology)
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In psychology the psyche (
/ˈsaɪkiː/) is the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious. Psychology is the scientific or objective study of the psyche. The word has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older texts.
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Contents
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Etymology
The basic meaning of the Greek word ψυχή (psūchê) was "life". Derived meanings included "spirit", "ghost", and ultimately "self", "conscious personality".[1]
Ancient Psychology
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The idea of the Psyche is central to the philosophy of Plato. In his Phaedo, Plato has Socrates give four arguments for the immortality of the soul and life after death following the separation of the soul from the body. [2] Plato's Socrates also states that after death the Psyche is better able to achieve wisdom and experience the Platonic forms since it is unhindered by the body. [3]
The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote an influential treatise on the psyche, called in Greek Περὶ Ψυχῆς (Perì Psūchês), in Latin De Anima and in English On the Soul. Aristotle's theory of the "three souls (psyches)" (vegetal, animal, and rational) would rule the field of psychology until the 19th century. Prior to Aristotle, a number of Greek writings used the term psyche in a less precise sense.[4] In late antiquity, Galenic medicine developed the idea of three "spirits" (pneuma) corresponding to Aristotle's three souls. The pneuma psychikon corresponded to the rational soul. The other two pneuma were the pneuma physicon and the pneuma zoticon.
Medieval Psychology
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This section requires expansion. |
The term psyche was Latinized to anima, which became one of the basic terms used in medieval psychology. Anima would have traditionally been rendered in English as "soul" but in modern usage the term "psyche" is preferable.[5]
Phenomenology
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This section requires expansion. |
19th century psychologists such as Franz Brentano developed the concept of the psyche in a more subjective direction.
Psychoanalysis
In psychoanalysis and other forms of depth psychology, the psyche refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, behavior and personality.[6]
Freudian school
Main article: Id, ego, and super-ego
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, believed that the psyche was composed of three components:[7]
- The id, which represents the instinctual drives of an individual and remains largely unconscious.
- The super-ego, which represents a person's conscience and their internalization of societal norms and morality.
- The ego, which is conscious and serves to integrate the drives of the id with the prohibitions of the super-ego. Freud believed this conflict to be at the heart of neurosis.
Jungian school
Carl Jung wrote much of his work in German. Difficulties for translation arise because the German word Seele means both psyche and soul. Jung was careful to define what he meant by psyche and by soul.
I have been compelled, in my investigations into the structure of the unconscious, to make a conceptual distinction between soul and psyche. By psyche, I understand the totality of all psychic processes, conscious as well as unconscious. By soul, on the other hand, I understand a clearly demarcated functional complex that can best be described as a "personality". (Jung, 1971: Def. 48 par. 797)
[The translation of the German word Seele presents almost insuperable difficulties on account of the lack of a single English equivalent and because it combines the two words "psyche" and "soul" in a way not altogether familiar to the English reader. For this reason some comment by the Editors will not be out of place.]
[In previous translations, and in this one as well, psyche– for which Jung in the German original uses either Psyche or Seele– has been used with reference to the totality of all psychic processes (cf. Jung, Psychological Types, Def. 48); i.e., it is a comprehensive term. Soul, on the other hand, as used in the technical terminology of analytical psychology, is more restricted in meaning and refers to a "function complex" or partial personality and never to the whole psyche. It is often applied specifically to "anima" and "animus"; e.g., in this connection it is used in the composite word "soul-image" (Seelenbild). This conception of the soul is more primitive than the Christian one with which the reader is likely to be more familiar. In its Christian context it refers to "the transcendental energy in man" and "the spiritual part of man considered in its moral aspect or in relation to God." . . . –Editors.] (Jung, 1968: note 2 par. 9)
Cognitive psychology
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This section requires expansion. |
In recent decades cognitive psychology has replaced psychoanalysis as the dominant school of psychology in academic centres. The word "mind" is preferred by cognitive scientists to "psyche".
See also
Notes
- ^ Henry George Liddell and Ridley Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon entry "psyche".
- ^ Plato, Phaedo 69e-84b.
- ^ Plato, Phaedo 59c-69e
- ^ Cf. Rohde, Psyche, Chapters I and VII. Also see the myth of Eros and Psyche, where Psyche was the embodiment of the soul.
- ^ Simon Kemp, Medieval Psychology; Simon Kemp, Cognitive Psychology in the Middle Ages; Anthony Kenny Aquinas on Mind.
- ^ Cf. Reed, Edward S., on the narrowing of the study of the psyche into the study of the mind.
- ^ Reber, Arthur S.; Reber, Emily S. (2001). Dictionary of Psychology. New York: Penguin Reference. ISBN 0-14-051451-1.
References
- Jung, C.G. (1968). Psychology and Alchemy, Collected Works, Volume 12, Princeton, N.J. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01831-6 OCLC 219856.
- Jung, C.G. (1971). Psychological Types, Collected Works, Volume 6, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01813-8.
- Reed, Edward S., From Soul to Mind: The Emergence of Psychology, from Erasmus Darwin to William James, Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-300-07581-2
- Rohde, Erwin, Psyche: The Cult of Souls and the Belief in Immortality Among the Greeks, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1925; reprinted by Routledge, 2000. ISBN 0-415-22563-9
Further reading
- Valsiner, Jaan; Rosa, Alberto, The Cambridge Handbook of Sociocultural Psychology, Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-521-85410-5. Cf. Chapter 1, p. 23, "The Myth and Beyond: Ontology of Psyche and Epistemology of Psychology".
- Wilson, Robert Andrew; Keil, Frank C., The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences, MIT Press, 2001. ISBN 0-262-73144-4
- Snow, P.J., The Human Psyche In Love War and Enlightenment [1] December 2009 ISBN 978-1-921555-42-8
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Translations:
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Psyche
2.
v. tr. - peppe op
v. intr. - skræmme
n. - psykiater, psykolog, psykiatri, psykologi
adj. - psykiatrisk, psykedelisk
idioms:
- psych oneself up stramme sig op
- psyche out intimidere
- psyched up være ellevild
Nederlands (Dutch)
psyche, ziel
Français (French)
1.
n. - psyché, psychisme
2.
v. tr. - préparer (qn) psychologiquement (examen, etc), déstabiliser, intimider
v. intr. - faire une enchère par télépathie (au bridge)
n. - psychiatre, psychologue, enchère par télépathie
adj. - psychiatrique, psychédélique
idioms:
- psych oneself up se préparer mentalement
- psyche someone out (US) deviner les les intentions de qn, déstabiliser (qn)
- psyche something out déstabiliser (qch), (US) deviner (des intentions)
- psyched up préparé mentalement, remonté à bloc
Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Psyche
2.
v. - psychoanalysieren, einschüchtern
n. - Psyche
adj. - psychisch
idioms:
- psych oneself up sich einstimmen
- psyche someone out durchschauen
- psyche something out etwas analysieren, verstehen
- psyched up vorbereitet
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ψυχή, νους
v. - προετοιμάζομαι ψυχολογικά, ψυχαναλύω, σκιάζω
idioms:
- psych oneself up προετοιμάζομαι ψυχολογικά
- psyche out ψυχαναλύω
- psyched up (ψυχολογικά) πανέτοιμος (για)
idioms:
- psych oneself up autoconvincersi, darsi la carica
- psyche out depresso
- psyched up rinvigorito
Português (Portuguese)
n. - psique (f), psicologia (f) (gír.)
v. - psicanalisar (gír.), convencer, entender
idioms:
- psych oneself up fazer a cabeça
- psyche out manipular com o uso de psicologia, entender
- psyched up de cabeça feita
idioms:
- psych oneself up настроиться
- psyche out вывести из равновесия, предчувствовать
- psyched up настроиться
Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - psique, psiquis
2.
v. tr. - mentalizar, asustar o intimidar a alguien psicológicamente
v. intr. - hacer una jugada psíquica en el Bridge
n. - psiquiatra, psicólogo, psiquiatría, psicología, tipo de jugada en el Bridge
adj. - psiquiátrico, psicodélico
idioms:
- psych oneself up predisponerse, mentalizarse
- psyche someone out poner nervioso, usar intuición de tipo psíquico o psicológico (para dominar a alguien), intimidar
- psyche something out calar, maquinar algo
- psyched up preparado mentalmente, predispuesto
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - själ (sliv), psyke, säckspinnare (zool.)
v. - psykoanalysera, psyka
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
灵魂, 心理, 精神, 心理学
idioms:
- psych oneself up 振作精神, 使心理上作好准备
- psyche out 吓破了胆, 使泄气, 在心理上战胜, 心理上击溃
- psyched up 振作精神的, 心理上作好准备的
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 靈魂, 心理, 精神, 心理學
idioms:
- psych oneself up 振作精神, 使心理上作好準備
- psyche out 嚇破了膽, 使洩氣, 在心理上戰勝, 心理上擊潰
- psyched up 振作精神的, 心理上作好準備的
2.
v. tr. - ~을 위해 정신적으로 준비하다
v. intr. - 주술적인 노력을 하다
n. - 심리학자의 줄임말, 영혼, 정신
adj. - 마음의, 심적인
idioms:
- psych oneself up 정신적으로 대비하다
- psyche out 의기가 상하다
idioms:
- psyche out 心理的に脅威をあたえる, おじけさせる
- psyched up 心構えが出来た
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) الروح أو النفس البشريه, العقليه الأنسانيه (فعل) يؤثر عليه نفسيا
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - נפש האדם
v. tr. - הכין מישהו למשימה או לאירוע המצריכים כחות נפש, הפחיד
v. intr. - הציע הצעה מטעה (ברידג')
n. - פסיכיאטר (קיצור), פסיכולוגיה או פסיכיאטריה (קיצור), הצעה שאינה מייצגת את מה שיש בידו של המציע (ברידג')
adj. - פסיכיאטרי (של פסיכיאטריה) - קיצור, פסיכודלי - קיצור
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