Abstract

The article argues that the concept of psyche underwent fundamental changes in early Greek thought. The development can be outlined by distinguishing five steps. In Homer there is absolutely no evidence for psyche being a principle neither of life nor of mind functions. The appearance of psyche, i.e. its coming out of the dying body, is caused by human death. There is no indication that psyche has existed in the body before. Psyche functions as an individual substitute for the deceasing person. In early archaic lyrics life and psyche became more synonymous. In early Milesian thinking a wider connotation of psyche can be detected. Psyche is now understood as an overall principle of movement. It becomes a matter of philosophical speculation on what material psyche consists of. According to Pythagoras, psyche is something immortal being able to transmigrate from one living entity to another. This has two significant consequences: Firstly, psyche becomes the principle of all living things. Henceforth all living entities are understood as homogeneous qua psyche and therefore labelled as empsycha. Secondly, psyche is understood for the first time as an internal principle – the later so-called soul. The concept of an immortal soul evokes a new ethical approach: Man has to care for his soul by keeping it clean and unpolluted. Heraclitus expands this concept. He assumes psyche has a growing logos. He stresses the enormous spectrum of psyche to express that the soul has a complex structure, which is difficult but not impossible to explain. Heraclitus's conception can be interpreted as the beginning of psychology or a philosophy of the mind.