Shamanism and Psychology in Ancient Greece and India: The Evolution of Psyche

— —

Richard Valentine (Researcher and Cultural Consultant for the induction of international students coming to UK universities.)

Shamanism and Psychology in Ancient Greece and India

The Evolution of Psyche

Richard Valentine (Researcher and Cultural Consultant for the induction of international students coming to UK universities.)

$305

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Routledge
05 May 2025

Historiography; Philosophy of mind; Psychological theory & schools of thought; Shamanism, paganism & druidry

Series: A New History of Western Psychology

This book offers a historical introduction to psychology. It investigates the evolutionary origins of our capacity to practice psychology, including the necessary social conditions and the specialised language involved. It then turns to two cultural containers in which it first emerged, those of ancient Greece and ancient India. This is the second book in a new series, which presents the emergence of Western psychology in a global context.

The author begins by building a bridge between evolutionary psychology and the history of psychology. From one side, this bridge is an evolutionary account of human culture. From the other, it is a narrative of human evolution using the latest fossil and genetic evidence. Finally, linguistics and anthropology link the appearance of our species with the emergence of ancient psychologies. Central to this is the role of the shaman-figure in all ancient cultures, which is connected to the origins of psychological language. The key words ‘psyche’ (mind, conscious and unconscious) and ‘logos’ (talk, discourse, reason) will find their permanent meanings in Greece before they are combined to form ‘psychology’ in Plato. Parallel terms in India such as ‘atman’ (the universal self) and ‘manas’ (mind) also find their range of meanings. Ancient Europe and ancient India, two wings of the Indo-European world, are introduced as distinct cultures related by language, each developing distinct psychological traditions. Descriptions and explanations of mental phenomena are traced from Homer to Plato, and in India from the Vedas to the Upanishads. In each case these are related to the competing ‘psychologies’ of religious cults as manifestations of shamanism, leading to the birth of world psychologies. Presented in an accessible manner, this is an excellent resource for students and teachers of psychology, philosophy, history, linguistics, archaeology, and anthropology, as well as general readers who want to learn more about the origins of psychology on a global stage.

This title follows on from The Global Origins of Psychology: Neurology, Language and Culture in the Ancient World. It applies the same framework to the Indo-European world.

By: Richard Valentine (Researcher and Cultural Consultant for the induction of international students coming to UK universities.)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 740g
ISBN: 9781041021179
ISBN 10: 1041021178
Series: A New History of Western Psychology
Pages: 294
Publication Date: 05 May 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Part 1: Evolution and Psychology 1. Evolution and Culture 2. Cultural Ecologies 3. Becoming Human 4. Tools for Global Psychology Part 2: Origins of Greek Psychology 5. Ancient Europe 6. Mythos and Logos in Homer 7. Psyche in Homer 8. The Fate of Psyche 9. Shamanism in Ancient Greece Part 3: Origins of Indian Psychology 10. India, Ancient and Modern 11. Sources of Indian Psychology 12. Vedic Psychology Bibliography Subject / Author Index Nation Index

Richard Valentine is a member of the British Psychological Society and Associate Fellow of the Kirkby Laing Centre for Public Theology, a research institute in Cambridge, UK. From an academic background in philosophy and natural sciences, and after a career in education, he retrained in psychology. He has since worked in occupational psychology, profiling clients for careers counselling and mentoring, and in higher education as a researcher, consultant and broadcaster for the induction of international students. He has published on policy in higher education in physics, psychology and religious studies. He lives on the coast of Cumbria, UK.

Reviews for Shamanism and Psychology in Ancient Greece and India: The Evolution of Psyche

""This grand, enthralling, wide-ranging project is a journey backwards into the deep history of the seemingly simple nineteenth-century word psychology, from ancient Greek psyche and logos, and then further back into proto-Indo-European and into Africa. A modern integration of the humanities, archaeology, sociocultural processes, neurology, biology and evolutionary theory sees psychological language as originating in Neolithic shamans, who were priests, mystics, doctors, politicians and psychologists. Coupling our enlarged brain’s unique cognitive fluidity and symbolic thought, with migration, mobility and cultural mixing, the result was modern minds, and also the science of psychology."" Chris McManus, Professor of Psychology, University College London, UK