Psychology is one of the youngest sciences, but that does not mean that it has not been developing over centuries, or even millennia.
In fact, some of the big questions it tries to answer began to generate theories more than 2,000 years ago. The theory of the four humors, related to the different types of personality that we can find in human beings, is an example of this. It was proposed by the Greek Hippocrates.
By the 5th century BC, Ancient Greece, which was the cradle of what would become Western civilization, theories were already beginning to be forged about why we are the way we are and do what we do. In reality, this type of theoretical proposals had also appeared before in other areas of the planet, but the Greek case was of special importance because there the technical advances of Asia and Egypt were united with philosophy and the powerful cultural and philosophical activity of the area.
Greece was a region in which knowledge was disseminated much more freely than, for example, in the Persian Empire, in which the teaching of writing was highly centralized and was used basically for commerce and administration.
This explains why in just three centuries Ancient Greece could become a benchmark for the development of philosophy and science (its most embryonic phase). But Greek science, like what was happening in other parts of the world, was mixed with religions and a vision of the world still very much based on old myths. That is what explains the appearance of the theory of the four humors
Originally, the theory of the four humors, first proposed by the Greek physician Hippocrates, was based on the assumption that the human body is composed of four basic substances (the so-called “humors”) and that balances and imbalances in the Amounts of these substances in an organism determines its health.
These humors corresponded to the elements air, fire, earth and water which a few years before had been pointed out by the philosopher Empedocles as the raw materials of everything that exists.
Thus, the theory of the four humors was not isolated from the way in which reality was understood in Ancient Greece, but was linked to a belief about the origin of the planet and the cosmos in general; Supposedly, all reality was a combination of different amounts of these four elements, and from there arose the theory of the four humors. The properties of these four elements, in turn, were reflected in the characteristics of the four humors that according to Hippocrates flowed through the human body.
The different humors according to Hippocrates
And what were these humors? Each of them expresses specific physical characteristics, in line with the thinkers of the time, who tried to describe reality based on everyday and easily identifiable material properties. Explained very briefly, they were these:
1. Black bile
Substance linked to the element earth whose properties were cold and dryness.
2. Yellow bile
Humor corresponding to the element of fire His qualities were warmth and dryness.
3. Blood
The substance linked to the element of air whose properties were warmth and humidity.
The substance related to water whose properties are cold and humidity.
Moods and personality
For Hippocrates and a good part of the doctors who assimilated the former’s theories during the following centuries, The theory of the four humors offered a basis on which to work in medicine, however precarious it might be Thus, many treatments for diseases consisted of modifying the patients’ diet so that, by eating certain foods, their humoral levels were balanced. In some cases, bleeding was performed so that patients lost fluid for the same purpose.
But this basis for medicine was not the only thing that emerged from the theory of the four humors. Some thinkers expanded it so that it was capable of explaining not only people’s health, but also the tendencies of their behavior and mental life. Among these researchers, Galen of Pergamon stood out, a Roman doctor and philosopher born in the 2nd century AD. c
Galen’s ideas
For Galen, Imbalances in the amounts of humors had an influence on the way we think, feel and act In other words, its proportions were the basis of people’s temperament. Naturally, each individual has levels of humors that are very rarely completely proportional, and that is what explains personality differences.
When black bile humor predominates, for example, he believed that the person tended to be melancholic and prone to sadness and the expression of intense emotions, while in individuals in whom there is a greater proportion of phlegm than the rest of the substances, their Temperament would be characterized by its tendency to rationally analyze situations and its ease in remaining calm.
As we have seen, according to this humoral vision of the human being, health was found in the balance of these substances (the logic of balances between fundamental elements was very common at the time).
It was believed that some diseases or special situations could cause this disproportion to grow, worsening the person’s health and/or causing their temperament to become more extreme and discordant with the way of being of others.
1. Sanguine
It corresponded to happy and optimistic people, with a tendency to express their affection for others and with self-confidence. She corresponded to the substance of blood.
2. Melancholic
Temperament defined by the presence of a large amount of black bile, Their associated temperament is sad, with artistic sensitivity and easy to be moved
3. Phlegmatic
Corresponding to the humor of phlegm, People associated with this temperament would be cold and rational
4. Choleric
Temperament related to yellow bile, would be expressed in passionate people, easily angered and with great energy
The theory of the four temperaments, today
The theory born with Empedocles and Hippocrates and expanded by Galen was one of the pillars of medicine until the time of the Renaissance. Beyond this historical stage, however, it has served as inspiration to some psychologists interested in the study of individual differences and personality, among them Hans Eysenck.
It must be taken into account that This classification system has no scientific value ; In any case, it can serve to inspire when developing theories and hypotheses that, over time, will have empirical evidence in their favor.
