Safety of an individual – at the origin of military psychology

The article presents characteristics of the conducted research on the functioning of a human in a threatening situation and the security of a human individual. The research falls within the strand of military psychology, which has empirical traditions. Although the human psyche has been dealt with somehow in all eras and cultures, the systematic accumulation of empirical knowledge in this field began only in the 19th century as a part of the fascination with science, which can be primarily associated with the development of medical science. A specific role in the intensification of human interest in that issue was also played by socio-economic processes, which led to the development of many scientific disciplines and, through them, academic centres. In the second half of the 19th century, the state of knowledge was strongly influenced by advancements in various fields of practical (empirical) sciences and the humanities. In France, Germany, and the British Isles, attempts to interpret such, and not other, human conduct and types of activity, as well as causal forces, factors, and motives, increasingly appeared in scientific literature and widespread transmission.