Today, being Psychology Day in Spain, we commemorate the person who is considered the patron saint of psychology in the Spanish university environment: Juan Huarte of San Juan (1529 – 1588). This doctor and philosopher of Navarrese origin published his work during the last days of February of the year 1575. Examination of wits for the sciences, a book in which he delved into individual differences and human temperaments, linking biology and behavior. In turn, Huarte de San Juan proposed a different training for each person depending on their physical and mental capabilities.
Although the book was censored by the Inquisition Because it offers a description of the human essence that is different from the line of Catholic officialdom, it could be printed several times and sold clandestinely, becoming very popular thanks to its versions translated into several languages. The merit of this sagacious philosopher was knowing how to resume the line of study that linked mind and brain, initiated by Alcmeon of Crotona. hundreds of years ago, and study how the body and psyche could influence each other (and all this, with the full power of the Inquisition against them). Although psychology as a discipline that uses the scientific method was consolidated many years later, it is also valued for its role as pioneer Juan Huarte de San Juan was in charge of putting the first grains of sand so that psychology could formalize his research criteria.
Due to the impact that his theoretical body had on the conception of human beings and their behavior, he is considered a precursor of differential psychology and professional guidance. Likewise, this somewhat unknown figure from Spanish history is considered patron of psychology in Spain since 1983, and the day of its commemoration corresponds to the dates on which the Examen des Ingenios began to be printed. Today, numerous universities offer talks, conferences, cycles and, in short, program pedagogical activities other than the usual ones. There is also the option of taking the day off, something that many psychology students will surely appreciate.
