--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This dogma (the soul) has been present in…" description: "\"This dogma (the soul) has been present in human psychology from earliest antiquity. No one has ever touched the soul, or has seen one in a test tube, o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/john-b-watson-44465_antiquity_this-dogma-the-soul-has-been-present-in_2771469.png" --- # This dogma (the soul) has been present in human psychology… ![“This dogma (the soul) has been present in human psychology from earliest antiquity. No one has ever touched the soul, or has seen one in a test tube, or has in any way come into a relationship with it as he has with the other objects of his daily experience.” quote by John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/john-b-watson-44465_antiquity_this-dogma-the-soul-has-been-present-in_2771469.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/john-b-watson-44465_antiquity_this-dogma-the-soul-has-been-present-in_2771469.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/john-b-watson-44465_antiquity_this-dogma-the-soul-has-been-present-in_2771469.png) > “This dogma (the soul) has been present in human psychology from earliest antiquity. No one has ever touched the soul, or has seen one in a test tube, or has in any way come into a relationship with it as he has with the other objects of his daily experience.” [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The soul concept is absent from empirical psychology; it cannot be observed or measured, unlike tangible objects of daily experience. **In simple terms:** Psychology cannot study the unobservable soul. Key Takeaway Focus on observable behavior rather than metaphysical ideas. Themes empiricism psychology materialism Mood skeptical thoughtful Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - research design - education - clinical practice Key Concepts behaviorism scientific method Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile belief with science? - Can unobservable concepts be useful? A Different Perspective Some argue the soul influences behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiquity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) [Daily experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-experience/) [Dogma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogma/) [Dogma Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogma-soul-3245796/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Psychiatry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychiatry/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Psychology Earliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology-earliest-3245797/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Soul Seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-seen-814444/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) [Touched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touched/) [Tubes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tubes/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Eyes so transparent that through them the soul is seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/eyes-so-transparent-that-through-them-the-soul-is-seen/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [What's female beauty, but an air divine, thro' which the mind's all gentle graces shine? They, like the sun, irradiate all between; the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/what-s-female-beauty-but-an-air-divine-thro-which-the-mind-s-all/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [“You can speak, I said looking directly at him, I needed him to know I wasn’t afraid. I’d been dealing with wandering souls, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/you-can-speak-i-said-looking-directly-at-him-i-needed-him-to-know-i/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [One of the deepest longings of the human soul is to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/one-of-the-deepest-longings-of-the-human-soul-is-to-be-seen/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“What you can see with the vision of the soul cannot be seen with open eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiva-negi/what-you-can-see-with-the-vision-of-the-soul-cannot-be-seen-with-open/) [Shiva Negi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiva-negi/) > [“The soul cannot be seen in a biological laboratory, any more than pain can be seen on an operating table.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-soul-cannot-be-seen-in-a-biological-laboratory-any-more-than-pain/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Now one often saw only her face and body, while her soul was not seen at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/now-one-often-saw-only-her-face-and-body-while-her-soul-was-not-seen/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“The aura of his soul. She’d seen them before when she’d guided the dead. But she’d never seen one quite like this, darkness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-silver/the-aura-of-his-soul-she-d-seen-them-before-when-she-d-guided-the/) [Eve Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-silver/) > [Every human soul has seen, perhaps before their birth pure forms such as justice, temperance, beauty and all the great moral qualities which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/every-human-soul-has-seen-perhaps-before-their-birth-pure-forms-such/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [There are moments when the elixir of life rises to such over−brimming splendor that the soul spills over. In the seraphic smile of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/there-are-moments-when-the-elixir-of-life-rises-to-such-over-brimming/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“You have touched my soul, and I have seen your heart, and I know I am forever changed by the essence of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-roads/you-have-touched-my-soul-and-i-have-seen-your-heart-and-i-know-i-am/) [Jenna Roads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-roads/) > [The Behaviorist cannot find consciousness in the test-tube of his science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/the-behaviorist-cannot-find-consciousness-in-the-test-tube-of-his/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [Man is constantly being assured that he has more power than ever before in history, but his daily experience is one of powerlessness. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/man-is-constantly-being-assured-that-he-has-more-power-than-ever/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [I found by daily experience, the more I did, the more I might do for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/i-found-by-daily-experience-the-more-i-did-the-more-i-might-do-for-god/) [George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/) > [Condense some daily experience into a glowing symbol and an audience is electrified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/condense-some-daily-experience-into-a-glowing-symbol-and-an-audience/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by John B. Watson > [The Behaviorist cannot find consciousness in the test-tube of his science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/the-behaviorist-cannot-find-consciousness-in-the-test-tube-of-his/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [The first aim of a good college is not to teach books, but the meaning and purpose of life. Hard study and the learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/the-first-aim-of-a-good-college-is-not-to-teach-books-but-the-meaning/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [No one knows just how the idea of a soul or the supernatural started... It probably had its origin in the general laziness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/no-one-knows-just-how-the-idea-of-a-soul-or-the-supernatural-started/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [Men are built, not born… Give me the baby, and I'll make it climb and use its hands in constructing buildings of stone or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/men-are-built-not-born-give-me-the-baby-and-i-ll-make-it-climb-and/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [The behaviorist advances the view that what the psychologists have hitherto called thought is in short nothing but talking to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/the-behaviorist-advances-the-view-that-what-the-psychologists-have/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [Psychology, as the behaviorist views it, is a purely objective, experimental branch of natural science which needs introspection as little as do the sciences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/psychology-as-the-behaviorist-views-it-is-a-purely-objective/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/give-me-a-dozen-healthy-infants-well-formed-and-my-own-specified-2/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [There are... for us no instincts—we no longer need the term in psychology. Everything we have been in the habit of calling an 'instinct'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/there-are-for-us-no-instincts-we-no-longer-need-the-term-in/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) [Explore all 9 John B. Watson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) ## More Antiquity quotes > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [What subsists to-day by violence continues to-morrow by acquiescence and is perpetuated by tradition; till at last the hoary abuse shakes the gray hairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/what-subsists-to-day-by-violence-continues-to-morrow-by-acquiescence/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [“Since antiquity, men have defined themselves by those who are excluded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robinson/since-antiquity-men-have-defined-themselves-by-those-who-are-excluded/) [Jim Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-robinson/) > [While the business of education in Europe consists in lectures upon the ruins of Palmyra and the antiquities of Herculaneum , or in disputes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/while-the-business-of-education-in-europe-consists-in-lectures-upon/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [In antiquity there was only silence. In the nineteenth century, with the invention of the machine, Noise was born. Today, Noise triumphs and reigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-russolo/in-antiquity-there-was-only-silence-in-the-nineteenth-century-with/) [Luigi Russolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-russolo/) > [Arles is certainly one of the most interesting towns I have ever seen, whether viewed as a place remarkable for the objects of antiquity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/arles-is-certainly-one-of-the-most-interesting-towns-i-have-ever-seen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An established government has an infinite advantage, by that very circumstance of its being established--the bulk of mankind being governed by authority, not reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/an-established-government-has-an-infinite-advantage-by-that-very/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [I was brought up in Florence, a beautiful medieval town whose rhythm is completely in antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/i-was-brought-up-in-florence-a-beautiful-medieval-town-whose-rhythm/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [Although Damascus is considered the oldest city in the world, the date of its foundation going beyond tradition, there are very few relics of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/although-damascus-is-considered-the-oldest-city-in-the-world-the-date/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [“Educated and ambitious, with their own forthright opinions, the women of the Garvey set did more to determine political direction than many councillors. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-septimius/educated-and-ambitious-with-their-own-forthright-opinions-the-women/) [A. H. Septimius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-septimius/) > [Book burning is a charming old custom, hallowed by antiquity. It has been practiced for centuries by fascists, communists, atheists, school children, rival authors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/book-burning-is-a-charming-old-custom-hallowed-by-antiquity-it-has/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) [Browse all 244 Antiquity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This dogma (the soul) has been present in human psychology from earliest antiquity. 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