Philosophy vs. Psychology: What's the Difference? Between Philosophy and Psychology

Psychology and philosophy have similar roots in that they both study human beings, albeit one focuses on what the human condition is (philosophy) and the other strives to understand why the human condition is what it is (psychology) and how it functions in certain contexts.

In terms of historical methods, however, philosophy predates psychology by several centuries, having been born several centuries before psychology was officially founded.

It's important to note right away that, while the domains are comparable, one definitely exceeds the other in terms of conception time and overall worry. Because of this, all psychology can be considered a branch of philosophy, at least in the sense that all psychological perspectives have philosophical foundations or precedents.

With that out of the way, let's look at some of the distinctions. The explanations will be brief because the breadth of these themes is huge, and it will be impossible to do them properly without presenting several hours of lectures. They will, however, undoubtedly reflect the spirit of both fields!

Psychology and Philosophy: What's the Difference?

1. Philosophy is the study of all wisdom, whereas psychology is the study of "the soul."

The basic interest of philosophy is far broader than that of psychology. While psychology focuses on how people function, what motivates them, what influences their likes and dislikes, and so on, philosophy ponders wider questions concerning the nature of existence, such as what is the point of living a life if one can be considered to exist? What is the nature of understanding? How can we tell if the nature of our experiences is true or not?

These are some of philosophy's most important issues. Psychology, on the other hand, is concerned with the human mind, specifically perception, memory, and interpersonal interactions. As a result, psychology has a considerably smaller range of problems to solve. This isn't to say that philosophy is superior to psychology, or that psychology is superior to philosophy. It merely signifies that they are two distinct fields with separate concerns.

2. While psychology is usually observable, philosophy tends to be more on the observational, notional spectrum.

Epistemology (the study of knowledge), phenomenology (the study of experience), axiology (the study of ethics and aesthetics), metaphysics (the study of the nature of reality), and logic are some of the branches of philosophy. Most of these branches do not necessitate physical experimentation, which is understandable given that there were no experimental labs when philosophy began in Ancient Greece.

Philosophical labs are a concept that does not yet exist. What does exist, however, are the millions of books that philosophy students use to conduct study and come up with well-considered responses to their issues. Psychology, on the other hand, is primarily based on observable occurrences. There are some exceptions, as not all schools of psychology are easily discernible (psychoanalysis being a huge example).

But, for the most part, psychologists do their study by conducting experiments and analysing data. This is a significant distinction; while it is possible to conduct qualitative research in psychology, possibilities are few and far between – and only if you can demonstrate a certain level of practical usefulness.

3. Studying philosophy leads to jobs that are very different from studying psychology.

This is maybe an underappreciated distinction, but it is undeniably important in terms of causality. Philosophy, like psychology, is a difficult subject. However, as we've shown, even within psychology, certain philosophical positions might be taken. Insofar as its findings are based entirely on observable phenomena, the Cognitive Behavioural school of psychology, for example, is empiricist.

While psychoanalysis does not rely on rationality in any way, it does pose a challenge to the philosophical pillars of rationality. Again, this is supposed to be used as an example only and should not be taken literally.

Essentially, the idea is that studying psychology leads to very different types of job chances than studying philosophy. Aside from training methods and materials, this is important since a psychologist can work as a researcher, psychotherapist, or counsellor.

A philosophy graduate, on the other hand, is more likely to find work as a postsecondary educator, writer, researcher, or academic writer. This is the kind of information that can completely change a person's mind about their career path – and even what they want to accomplish with their bachelor's degree!

Curiosity should be nurtured.

You should have a better idea of what you want to study in the future now that you understand the differences between psychology and philosophy. However, having such a diverse selection of books to pick from when studying is maybe one of the nicest aspects of studying in the first place!

So don't worry too much about which of your passions belongs to which field, because there's a good possibility they'll intersect. Just concentrate on getting a degree in a major field while cultivating all of your small interests!

Conclusion

Those who are interested in studying people and learning everything there is to know about how they work will find psychology to be an exciting field to work in. And if you're interested in the field, you should certainly go into it!

If you're worried that you don't have these skills yet, don't worry; you'll gain them as you study Psychology, so it won't be an issue. On a long journey, you should take the first few steps and the rest will fall into place.