Home > Psychohistory
For the fictional use of the term "psychohistory", see psychohistory (fictional)
Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. It combines the insights of psychotherapy with the research methodology of the social sciences to understand the emotional origin of the social and political behavior of groups and nations, past and present. This field of study is considered by some to have significant differences from the mainstream fields of history and psychology.
1 Description
Psychohistory derives many of its insights from areas that are perceived to be ignored by conventional historians as shaping factors of human history; in particular, the effects of childbirth, parenting practice and child abuse. The historical impact of incest, infanticide, and child sacrifice are considered. Psychohistory holds that human societies can change between infanticidal and non-infanticidal practices and has coined the term ' early infanticidal childrearing' to describe abuse and neglect observed by many anthropologists.
Psychohistory holds that many political scientists and historians teach that social behaviour is usually for rational reasons rather than irrational ones, and that international violence is often instigated for economic gain. Psychohistorians suggest that social behaviour may be a self-destructive re-enactment of earlier abuse and neglect - that unconscious flashbacks to early fears and destructive parenting could dominate individual and social behaviour.
Psychohistory has been credited with helping to revitalise the historical biography. Notable examples of psychobiography are those by Lewis Namier, who wrote of the British House of Commons and Fawn Brodie, who wrote of Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson Other images: (, , ) Order 3rd President Term of Office Monday, March 4, 1801 Thursday, March 3, 1809 Followed John Adams Succeeded by James Madison Date of Birth April 13, 1743 Place of Birth Shadwell, Virginia Date of Death Tuesday, Jul.
2 Areas of Psychohistorical Study
There are three inter-related areas of psychohistorical study.
- The History of Childhood - which looks at such questions as:
- How have children been raised throughout history
- How has the family been constituted
- How and why have practices changed over time
- The changing place and value of children in society over time
- How and why our views of child abuse and neglect have changed
- Why there is still denial in modern societies about the reality of child abuse
- Psychobiography - which seeks to understand individual historical people and their motivations in history.
- Group Psychohistory - which seeks to understand the motivations of large groups in history.
3 Emergence as a Discipline
Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud ( May 6, 1856 September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. He became interested in hypnotis is probably most qualified to be described as the inventor of the field as his works, such as Civilization and Its DiscontentsCivilization and Its Discontents was a book written by Sigmund Freud in the decade before his death and was first published in German in 1929. In it he states his views on the question of man's place in the world, a place Freud describes as being on the f, often included historical analysis supported by his theories of psychoanalysis. The actual term "psychohistory" was coined by Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 April 6, 1992) was a Russian-born American author and biochemist, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his science books for the lay person. He also wrot as the name for a fictional science in his Foundation TrilogyHari Seldon's holographic image, pictured on a paperback edition of Foundation appears at various times in the First Foundation's history, to guide it through the social and economic crises that befall it. The Foundation Series is an epic science fiction universe. Lloyd deMauseLloyd deMause (born September 19, 1931) is a psychologist who claims to have created the academic field of psychohistory. He also created The Journal of Psychohistory which he still edits, and the Institute for Psychohistory, which he still directs. He re was a pioneer in the field of psychohistory and continues to be extremely influential in it. Other notable psychohistorians include Alice Miller and Julian Jaynes, though they are rarely thought of as being specifically psychohistorians.
