Psychologist's Reasons to Know - Essay Example

To surmount the past, you must know the past." Since one is determined to become a psychologist, I agree with Rothko’s statement and identify the need to know two specialized endeavors, such as Philosophy and Anthropology, by presenting the contentions within the discourse to someone who aspires to be in the same profession. A Psychologist’s Reasons to Know “You have to learn, young man. Philosophy. Theology. Literature. Poetry. Drama. History. Archeology. Anthropology. Mythology. Music.

These are your tools as much as brush and pigment. You cannot be an artist until you are civilized. You cannot be civilized until you learn. To be civilized is to know where you belong in the continuum of your art and your world. To surmount the past, you must know the past." – Mark Rothko. One is determined to become a psychologist. After having remunerated on the professed statements of Rothko, I agree that it is important to be civilized, and to be civilized one must learn about a variety of disciplines and from the great works and ideas that shaped our history.

To become an effective psychologist, one deems it of crucial relevance to know two specialized endeavors such as Philosophy and Anthropology. . In every conceivable setting from scientific research centers to mental health care services, "the understanding of behavior" is the enterprise of psychologists” (Amercan Psychological Association, 2012, p. 1). Likewise, anthropology is clearly defined as “the study of humanity. It has its origins in the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences” (Define Anthropology, 2011, p. 1). Philosophy, on the other hand, was revealed to be fairly difficult to define, given the expansive scope of the endeavor.

Pardi (2011) wittingly noted that when his graduate professor asked what philosophy is, one of the most favorite answers was ““psychology misspelled.” Accordingly, it was noted that “the more philosophy I study, the more affinity I see between it and psychology. Both are generally focused on the mind and what it does, both worry about how the mind relates to the world around it, both are interested in behavior. But philosophy focuses less on how to live in the world as a thinking thing and spends more energy on what it means to be a mind.

Philosophy also studies the mind’s contents--ideas or concepts. Psychology helps humans to understand why things go wrong and how to make them right again (and what that means) while philosophy is concerned with understanding the structure of things like beliefs, a moral behavior, and sense experience” (Pardi, 2011, par. 6). Having established the theoretical frameworks of the mentioned disciplines, one is more determined that in pursuing a degree in psychology, there is eminent need to immerse oneself in both anthropology and philosophy to enhance expertise and awareness on the various disciplines that influence and impact human experience.