Tracing the Emergence of Psychology, 1520–⁠1750

Sven Hroar Klempe is Professor in Psychology at the Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. His background includes time as full Professor in Musicology, Associate Professor in Media Studies, teacher, and journalist. His research is cross disciplinary, with an emphasis on the history of psychology, culture and psychology, theory of science, communication, and music psychology.

• Colophon page.- Preface by Jaan Valsiner.- Acknowledgement.- Introduction.- The first use of the term "psychology".- ‘Psyche’ in ancient Greece.- Humanism,Petrarchism and Melanchthon.- The Reformation and Protestantism's need for psychology.- Subjectivity in popular culture.- Psychology and metaphysics.- Psychology outside the German-speaking area.- Metaphysics rooted in feelings and body – Spinoza.- A dynamic understanding of the world – Leibniz.- Christian Wolff – the ground zero of modern psychology?.- The impact of Psychologia Empirica on the European enlightenment.- References.- Index.

“There is no doubt that the book is worth reading and packed with intriguing information and interesting arguments … . This is a merit of the book as a whole: Klempe raises numerous intriguing points, inviting the reader to explore further and join the project of rethinking the history of a discipline that so profoundly affects how we make sense of the world today.” (Sophie Pia Stieger, IJHE International Journal for the Historiography of Education, Vol. 11 (2), 2021)