The 6 most important differences between Psychology and Philosophy

It is easy to confuse between them psychology Y philosophy, perhaps because both can be applied in a wide variety of areas and address issues that go beyond what is material and constant over time. There is a vague notion that advice can be issued from both, and norms, guidelines for conduct and life lessons, but knowing where the field of study of one begins and where the other ends is not so easy.

However, that does not mean that they do not exist clear lines that separate each of its realms of research and application. Here I propose six differences between psychology and philosophy that can help you better guide yourself in these types of issues.

• Related article: "The 8 branches of Philosophy (and their main thinkers)"

Main differences between philosophy and psychology

This is a summary of the ideas to consider in distinguishing between philosophy and psychology.

1. They are learned differently

The teaching psychology It is based on methodologies in which very specific tools are incorporated and that go far beyond reading careful text: experimentation with volunteers, observation of body parts under a microscope, use of software statistics, etc.

Philosophy, although it can also make use of certain instruments such as those named, does not have such a broad consensus as to which methodologies to follow. If something defines it, it is precisely the flexibility when establishing what its purpose should be and which ones must be the ways to reach it (that is, reflection on that itself can already be considered philosophy).

Thus, while in psychology there is a more or less clear accumulation of knowledge, in philosophy it is possible to make important advances starting almost from scratch. For example, while learning psychology involves keeping up with the latest research important events that are taking place in recent years or even months, in philosophy this is not necessary. As a consequence, works in the field of philosophy can give rise to relatively new lines of research. isolated from each other, while in psychology the creation of knowledge that can lead to consensus.

2. They are investigated with different methodologies

One of the main differences between psychology and philosophy is in the type of methodologies that, in practice, are used in each one. Philosophy is independent of the scientific method, since it works rather with the conceptual categories and the relationship that is established between them, and therefore can use practically any instrument and method for its research. Psychology, instead, relies on empiricism to develop hypotheses about behavior and perception of the human being. Therefore, quantitative research (especially experimental) and statistics are of great importance in the psychological research, which means that taking small steps in understanding the psyche is expensive and involves many people.

3. Their goals are different

Classically, philosophy has had intellectual purposes, and its main goal has been the creation of categories and philosophical systems that serve to explain reality (or realities) in the best possible way. Philosophy tends to study a whole, rather than specific components of reality. It can also serve as a tool for collective emancipation, as proposed by some philosophical currents heirs of Marxism, and therefore addresses the usefulness of certain cultural and interpretive frameworks to understand the reality.

Psychology, despite having infinite applications, limits a object of study more specific: human behavior and its emotional and subjective dimension. For this reason, their hypotheses and theories always start from the human body or the subjectivity of people, alone or in relation to each other. It almost never addresses the search for a reality totally alien to people's existence, something that has historically occurred in some philosophical proposals.

4. They use different languages

Much of psychology consists of research by means of the scientific method, and therefore seeks empirical bases to help you propose theoretical models that are well received by the scientific community. As a consequence, agreement is constantly being sought in the meaning of words, to speed up the research in certain areas and that several researchers from various areas of the world can collaborate in the same line of research.

Philosophy, on the other hand, can be found in philosophical systems formulated by a single person. That is why the main personalities in philosophy use a personal and idiosyncratic language, not consensual with others, and the same word or expression can mean very different things depending on the philosopher who formulate. Philosophy students need to spend a lot of time studying each of the authors before they can understand what they mean in each case.

5. Philosophy permeates everything, psychology is specific

Philosophy provides all sciences with analytical categories from which to study reality, while it does not have to be affected by scientific discoveries. But philosophy goes beyond science and began to exist before it. In fact, by writing this text I am doing something more like philosophy than psychology, because I am deciding from which perspective to approach each of the concepts, which aspects to highlight and which to omit.

The Psychology, as part of one of the different layers of science, is traversed by these philosophical debates that do not have to be part of the subject you intend to study. However, it goes beyond philosophical activity, trying to create knowledge through science. Of course, this information provided by research (and the data on which that information is based) must be interpreted from a certain point of view, and knowing which one is the best forces researchers to ask themselves questions of a philosophical.

6. Philosophy addresses morality, psychology does not

Philosophy wants to explain everything that can be explained, and this includes the study of the right ways to behave. That is why many of the great figures in this discipline have offered their ways of understanding the categories of "good" and "bad", to sometimes with the intention of creating universal ethical criteria, and sometimes with the intention of creating just a morality for certain communities human.

Psychology stays out of this type of debate and, in any case, give information on what kinds of behaviors can be useful to get closer to a goal, adopting a more pragmatic logic. In addition, it is possible for a researcher to study the psychological foundations behind different types of morality in different cultures, but you will not study morality itself, but its origins.

In addition, contributions from psychology can be used to propose the establishment of ethical scales and theories of morality.

• If you are curious to know how are psychology and philosophy alike, we recommend that you take a look at this article