Psychohistory-Tarcha

Psychohistory is one of many different houses of history. This house of history focuses on the psychological aspects of history. Psychohistory does not focus as much on the what but the why historical events happened. One important method to this house of history is psychoanalysis. This use of analysis helps researchers understand the figures of history and why they do what they do. But, to understand the importance of psychoanalysis one must first understand the origins of psychohistory. The origins of psychohistory started with Sigmund Freud in the early twentieth century.

Sigmund Freud is one of the most famous psychologists of all time and his theories have birthed many modern ideas in the field of psychology. But he did not only influence the field of psychology with his ideas. Psychohistory was also birthed out of Freud’s prolific career. One of Freud’s most famous theories is that of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is based on four basic principles that he established throughout the duration of his career and writings. The first tenant of this theory is that experiences in childhood are the experiences that primarily inform our behavior as adults. The second tenant is that there are developmental benchmarks that everyone goes through as they mature into adulthood. The theory of psychoanalysis also believes that adult behavior is mainly influenced by the unconscious and that there is a dialectical process that causes psychological conflict in individuals.^[1] Applying psychoanalysis to history is one of the main methods of researching psychohistory. The theory of psychoanalysis has since been expanded upon by many other psychologists. But the concept of psychoanalysis has remained steadfast as an important method of psychohistorical research, and some may say that psychoanalysis is intrinsic to the study of psychohistory in and of itself.^[2] Freud himself never used the term psychohistory, he instead used the term applied psychoanalysis.3 This exemplifies Freud’s approach to psychohistory and the beginnings of the field of psychohistory.

The mix of Freud’s psychoanalysis and the study of history became more prolific with Erik Erikson’s publication of Young Man Luther. In this book Erikson discusses the concept of ego psychology; which is the idea that the ego is the main factor in determining how individuals deal with the world around them. One historian says, “ego psychology and character analysis are particularly important and welcome to historians because they are based on the evidence of adult behavior. They do not require reconstruction of infantile experience… the evidence is historical”.^[3] This introduction of ego psychology is extremely important to the field of psychohistory. Another important concept in the beginnings of psychohistory is motivational theory. This theory seeks to determine the motivations behind one’s actions. So, researchers look at why someone acted the way they did instead of just what they did.

The first, and perhaps most important step that psychohistorians take in conducting research is collecting data. Researchers should collect as much and as many kinds of potential data as possible.^[4] So, researchers should look at both primary and secondary sources regarding the particular topic that they are choosing to research. In collecting data for research purposes there are too many potential sources that a researcher can use. To determine which sources to use researchers need to examine the internal and external validity of these sources.^[5] This is done for several reasons. One reason is that researchers can vet whether to use a source based on how likely it is that it is a valuable, reliable source that can be used well in their research. This also helps them to determine which sources to use and which sources to not use. There are too many sources for any given topic to use them all for research. So, determining which sources to use and which to not use is an important part of research.

The next part of a psychohistorian’s research process is determining how a subject compare to others during the period that they are alive and within their culture.^[6] Many psychological disorders are based on a deviance from normalcy. So, first a researcher must find what was considered normal at that time and within the culture. The next must look at the data that they have amassed and determine if and how much an individual deviates from that normalcy. This helps researchers define any potential psychological disorders that the subject of their research has. The determination of any psychological disorders can help researchers try and understand why the subject of their research acted the way they did. However, it is important that researchers do not only focus on their disorders and shortcomings psychologically, but also demonstrate their positive characteristics and achievements. Researchers should also draw their conclusions one source at a time rather than as one large data mass.^[7] This is to gradually understand more about the subject rather than drawing one conclusion based on all the data. This helps researchers understand more about the subject’s life than they otherwise would have.

One historian that embodies the principles of psychohistory is Bruce Mazlish. One example of a successful psychological work is his publication James and John Stuart Mill: Father and Son in the Nineteenth Century.2 In this publication he shows the research methodology of psychohistory through the synthesis of many different viewpoints present in the field of psychohistory. In this work he investigates the Oedipus Complex, which is a very Freudian ideal. While he investigates a Freudian ideal, he does not follow the Freudian way of thinking. He maintains the ideals that are given by Freud while he keeps up with contemporary psychohistory. The historian first established what a normal father son relationship looked like in the nineteenth century and then compared how this relationship compared. One thing that this historian does to as a psychohistorian is study real problems in the social world rather than the problems of the individual.^[8] Taking the lessons learned from a specific case example and applying them to the society at large is an important part of psychohistory as a field.