Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, continues its Psychology Department Seminar events for the 2022-2023 Fall Semester. At the event held in the Socrates Hall, E Block, South Campus, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector's Advisor and Psychology department faculty member Prof. Dr. Sırrı Akbaba delivered a presentation titled "Characteristics Distinguishing Psychology from Other Sciences."
“Is Psychology a science or a branch of science?”
Stating that there are confusions in the literature regarding whether psychology is a science or a branch of science, Prof. Dr. Sırrı Akbaba said; “Psychology might have been considered a branch of science instead of a science because it emerged from philosophy, or perhaps it wasn't seen as a science due to being a very young discipline. To say that psychology is not a branch of science is a wrong perspective. A field that has formed its own branches should now be seen as a main body. Therefore, psychology is a science." expressing his thoughts on the matter.
“The unit of study in psychology is the individual.”
Drawing attention to the fact that the unit of study in psychology is the individual, Akbaba stated; “Individual differences arise under the same law; we can give the example of pathology and normality being subject to the same law. Psychology works with concepts such as mind and emotion, not concepts that are the subject of biology, such as the brain and amygdala, because the subject of psychology consists of abstract things."
“Rational perception is the characteristic that makes humans human.”
Emphasizing that humans are living beings aware of their surroundings, conscious of themselves, and conscious of being conscious, Prof. Dr. Sırrı Akbaba stated that this indicates our ability for high-level abstraction. Akbaba said; “We divide the concept of perception into two: sensory perception and rational perception. Sensory perception is equal in animals and humans. However, rational perception is the counterpart of being conscious of being conscious, which is unique to humans. Therefore, rational perception is a characteristic that makes humans human.”