  Ibn Ezra’s attitude towards psychology emerges mainly from his poetry; it is not simply copied from some sterile classification scheme. His poetry, more than anything, has nourished his image as a neoplatonist in the scholarly literature. In fact, psychology was one arena of sharp conflict between philosophers and mutakallimūn. If, as we have suggested, Ibn Ezra was mainly influenced by Sa‘adiah and other gaonim—and thus also by the kalamists—many of his ideas about the soul derive from the traditions of Hebrew poetry in Spain. Unlike the kalam, which has little interest in psychology, and is not obsessed with release from this world, the Hebrew poets as a rule identify with the classical neoplatonists in seeking salvation and release of the soul from its mundane captivity.