“A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one big thing” — Isaiah Berlin
In this book, I will take you through a history of psychology. We will start at the very beginning, and learn how psychoanalysis was created, and then we will learn about the philosophies and scientific discoveries that inspired psychoanalytic pioneers such as Freud and Jung.
We will then move on to the more recent past, and I will show you some of the problems with the psychological enterprise, both in terms of the veracity of their its claims, and the impact it has had on society.
The point of this book was to provide the reader with a concise, panoramic view of the history of ideas about the self and human nature. Without the appropriate context, it is impossible to understand the basis of psychological ideas today, and to know what to make of them. But with the help of many great books, I have been able to provide sufficient amount of context to the discussion.
Throughout the book, you will learn about some of the best answers we have to the questions that have puzzled human beings since the dawn of civilization. Why does conflict exist? Why is advertising so effective? Why is the world so polarized? What is the nature of the self? Why is there a rise in narcissism in the modern world? And why do so many people believe such strange ideas?
You can spend a few years figuring it out, or you can read The Dichotomy of the Self and get some help from the world’s greatest thinkers throughout history. Choose wisely!
Originally published at https://unearnedwisdom.com.
