Abstract

GARCIA, José E.. THE PRESCIENTIFIC THINKING ON HEALTH AND ILLNESS. Cienc. Psicol. [online]. 2015, vol.9, n.2, pp.337-349. ISSN 1688-4094.

Health and illness are human-interest concepts since the ancient times throughout our evolution as a species. During prehistory, evidence of trepanation suggests the existence of early conceptions and practices concerning the body and mental health. In the ancient cultures, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks, these processes were associated with beliefs about influences of external spiritual entities and even demons over the mind and the body. The Greeks and Romans added new concepts to the medical practice, although several ancient precepts subsisted. Change in the frames of reference finally leads to the emergence of health psychology. The main objective of this article is to explore the evolution of the concepts of health and disease, reviewing its main variants with an emphasis on the old formulations. The approach taken is descriptive and based on the study of primary and secondary sources, predominantly the latter, in an attempt to differentiate the characteristics of the pre-scientific stage of psychology with current conceptions

Keywords : Health; Illness; Health Psychology; History of Psychology.

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