Hippocrates Abnormal Behavior

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The history of abnormal behaviors and mental illness has been a very controversial topic filled with trials and tribulations. According to the references of abnormal behaviors in the early writings, the Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese and Hebrews often attributed it to demons or gods who had taken possession of a person. The individual’s symptoms would determine whether they would be perceived as being possessed by evil or good forces. If the individual displayed behaviors gravitating towards a religion or mystics, they would contingently be perceived as good or sent forth by God. Those individuals with such symptoms were treated with ought most awe and respect because people believed that they had supernatural powers. However, most of the individuals…show more content…
“He relied tremendously on clinical observation, and his descriptions, which were based on daily clinical records of his patients, were surprisingly thorough.” (Psychology of abnormal behavior LA 108) Hippocrates paradigm transcended the bounds of exorcism. “For the treatment of melancholia for example, he prescribed a regular and tranquil life, sobriety and abstinence from all excesses, a vegetable diet, celibacy, exercise short fatigue and bleeding if indicated.” (Psychology of abnormal behavior LA 108) Hippocrates also recognized the vital role that nature and nurture plays on the patients so he would usually take them away from their families to an environment where they would be more susceptible to treatment. “Hippocrates' emphasis on the natural causes of diseases, on clinical observation, and on brain pathology as root of mental disorders was truly revolutionary; he believed that hysteria (the appearance of physical illness in the absence of organic pathology) was restricted to women and was caused by the uterus wandering to various parts of the body, pinning for children.” (Psychology of abnormal behavior LA 108) Celsus was an advocate in conceptualizing the use of the “delirium”, which were used prior to describe symptoms of mental…show more content…
At times, a proposed theory may actually represent nothing more than an unsatisfactory collection of personal statements of faith, a kind of personal confession, or “untested philosophies of life and humankind” (Gelso, 2006, p. 2). Generally, a theory is representative of a broader, philosophical pattern of thought or belief, representing the zeitgeist, spirit, or accepted intellectual conventions of an age; this is a basic definition of paradigm (Kuhn, 1970; Patton, 2002; Viola, 2009). Thomas Kuhn popularized the concept of paradigm (Kuhn, 1970). At the time he did so, Kuhn had already earned a doctorate “in theoretical physics before specializing in the history of science” (Kennedy, 2011, p. 3). “Kuhn…defined ‘paradigm’…in terms of the scientific community where ‘shared examples of successful practice could…provide what the group lacked in rules’” (Kennedy, 2011, p. 5). For Kuhn, “a paradigm must not only embrace a period’s horizon of thought but also interpret, unify, and give it meaning in a coherent way” (Kennedy, 2011, p. 6). Thus, “the idea of paradigm cannot stand alone outside the constellation that renders it intelligible” (Kennedy, 2011, p. 6). Theory is related to paradigm; paradigm, in turn, is related to history and the philosophy of science that guides research (Kennedy, 2011). It is in this manner that theory is intimately connected to the order of intelligibility (Lonergan,
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