ABSTRACT
Ancient Greeks effected a miracle—thinking about nature and human beings through philosophy and science rather than through revelation. They began the long Western—and, perhaps, human—trek toward science, freedom, and democracy. Psychology will play an important role in making experimentation part of science and medicine. The Greek separation of contemplation and action affects how psychologists think about the mind to the present day. Plato's search for the truth ended in simply knowing what the Truth is, in contemplating the eternal Forms. He was little concerned with practical action in the world of everyday life. The Guardians contemplated Truth while the toiling masses of the productive class actually did things. The separation of contemplation and action is found in a more technical form in Aristotle. When Aristotle initiated the field of logic in his formulation of syllogistic reasoning, he was concerned with laying down rules ensuring that we would form correct beliefs.
