The Problem of Relationship Between Philosophy and Psychology: The Historical Aspect and Perspectives

Abstract

The article analyzes the development of psychological knowledge within the philosophy, the problem of psychology formation as an independent science, generating ideas of the object and the subject of psychology and the development of its own scientific apparatus and methodology. Since the second half of the nineteenth century psychology has tried to break away from philosophy for the independent development, which served further complicated relations between two sciences. To meet the scientific ideal, psychology in its constructions intentionally followed the principles of the natural sciences organization, which brought not only positive but also negative consequences for psychological science. Having gone through periods of prosperity and crisis, psychology has not yet reached the paradigm stage of its development and not been a single scientific discipline, but a collection of different trends and schools. In psychology, still remains an unsolved problem of its subject, the meaning and scientific content of basic categories. Psychology can be developed in several ways. The article deals with one of the ways of such development, which is considered the most efficient. It is a way of returning in the psychological science its original, generic concept of the soul as the most important concept expressing the fundamental sense of human life generating diversity of psychic phenomena and human behavior, as well as considering the subjective experience as the scientific method along with empirical methods, that it is possible through the convergence of psychology and philosophy.