Chapter 2 - Philosophical influences on psychology Part 3 Flashcards
(52 cards)
1
Q
What was one of the major outcomes of the fall of Rome?
A
- Christianity became widespread, those who weren’t Christians were persecuted
2
Q
What were the Middle Ages referred to in terms of philosophical developments?
A
- ‘The Long Sleep’
- People had short lifespans
- There was a lack of productivity, people were afraid to speak up due to the power of the church
3
Q
What did the University of Bologna represent?
A
- The first university to offer formal higher education in Europe (1088)
- Scholars took advantage of this
4
Q
Who was Thomas Aquinas?
A
- Known as the “Angelic Doctor” or the “Great Dumb Ox of Sicily”
- Born to an aristocratic noble family
- Sent to nearby Monte Cassino to study
- Eventually became a Benedictine monk
- Chose a life of service (poverty)
- His mother disagreed… brothers kidnapped him and held him for a year
- Very pious soft-spoken, and cheerful
- Earned a doctorate at the University of Paris
5
Q
What did St. Thomas Aquinas think when he reviewed the works of Aristotle?
A
- Concluded that Aristotle was consistent with Chrisitian theology (i.e., no corruption)
- Was almost too successful integrating his philosophy (i.e., couldn’t be questioned)
- Convinced religious leaders that Aristotle can strengthen your faith, which backfired as people thought the Bible coroborated with Aristotle
6
Q
What was Aristotle’s Scala naturae?
A
- Indicated that forms of life could be differentiated on their abilities
- Plants = self-nutrition
- Animals = self-nutrition and sensation
- Humans = self-nutrition and sensation plus the ability to think
*Similar to sentiments in the bible
7
Q
What was Aquinas’ “Great Chain of Being”?
A
- How he argued for parallels of Catholicism with Aristotle’s work
- All animals are ranked in a hierarchy, with humans at the top in God’s image
- This order was designed by God
- Evidence comes from the bible, and is God’s plan
8
Q
Why was Aquinas relevant to psychology?
A
- His goal was to strengthen belief in faith but this had the opposite effect
- His writings put a greater focus on ‘reason’ (i.e., knowledge comes from sensation and perception)
- His work strengthened beliefs in rationalism and empiricism (people were reading more philosophy)
9
Q
Who was Johannes Gutenberg?
A
- Invented the printing press which was the first means of mass dissemination
- Was a big deal for religious texts
- Ancient Greek texts were now being read more widely
10
Q
Who was Francis Bacon?
A
- Born in London to a well-off family
- Trained as a lawyer, and was elected to the British parliament (this was most of his life)
- Mandatory retirement at age 60, turned his attention to philosophy and science
- Came to be known as the key authority of the ‘new science’
- Died of pneumonia after stuffing a chicken with snow
11
Q
What did Baconian science entail?
A
- Insisted on induction
- Science should not include any pre-conceived ideas
- Believed that Aristotle was biased due to having a theory already in mind
-Relied solely on observation in nature - This approach became to be known as Positivism
12
Q
What were Bacon’s Four Idols of the Mind (also called errors)?
A
- Idols of the cave - personal biases we have based on genetic inheritance, education, experiences
- Idols of the tribe - biases due to human nature; we see things the way we want to (i.e., confirmation biases, the fundamental attribution error)
- Idols of the Marketplace - Biases due to the meaning of words. Words or labels skew our observations of ideas or events (ex. names of authority)
- Idols of the Theater - A logical fallacy which states we have a blind spot for our allegiance (i.e., we refuse to intake info that refutes what we already believe in)
13
Q
What were Bacon’s contributions to psychology?
A
- First to highlight biases in observation
- Emphasized the need for understanding cause-and-effect relationships for applied knowledge
- His inductive approach was later adopted by Skinner and the behaviourists
14
Q
Who contributed most to the development of empiricism?
A
- Descartes
- Wrote extensively on mathematics and physics
15
Q
What are the general details of Descartes life?
A
- Mother died just after birth
- Was a physically weak and sick child
- Age 8, sent to a Jesuit school to study math
- Teachers permitted him to lie in bed and read for hours on end (continued this as an adult)-
- As a young adult, spent time in Paris, but eventually turned to a life of solitude
- Spent several years travelling, and then lived in Holland (avoiding Protestant radicals)
- Took a mistress and had a daughter who died at age 5 (chose celibacy after)
16
Q
What’s Descartes death story?
A
- Died after being commissioned to be the Queen Christina of Sweden to be her instructor
- Died of pneumonia from the early morning lessons
- Body eventually returned to France, but finger was kept in Sweden as a souvenir
17
Q
What’s the First Principle of Descartes’ philosophy?
A
- I think, therefore I am
- Translated from “Cogito, ergo sum”
- It was contained in “Discourse on the Method” and “Principles of Philosophy
18
Q
What were the three main insights that helped Descartes resolve mind-body dualism?
A
- He should not trust his senses, since they often lead to the wrong conclusion (i.e., we each have our own reality)
- The fact that he has thoughts, indicates for certain, that he is ‘something’ (i.e., I exist in the world; I think therefore I am)
- He could envision that thoughts would still exist, even if the body did not
19
Q
What was Descartes proposed solution for the mind-body problem?
A
- Pre-Descartes - Most people thought they were distinct
- Descartes proposed the mind and body are joined
- Believed that the mind influences the body, but the body also influenced the mind (more so that previously assumed)
- Descartes was a dualist
20
Q
How did Descartes describe the nature and function of the body?
A
- He was influenced by the mechanistic spirit of his times
- Believed that because the human body was made of matter, it is governed by the laws of the physical world
21
Q
How did Descartes describe the body like a machine?
A
- The nerves are like pipes
- The muscles are like engines
- The tendons are like springs
22
Q
What’s the Reflex Action Theory?
A
- Developed by Descartes
- The idea that an external object can bring about an involuntary response (ex. doctor knee tap)
- Precursor to stimulus-response (S-R) psychology
- Descartes suggested that human behaviour is predictable as a result, and therefore could be studied empirically
23
Q
How did Descartes describe interactionism?
A
- Interactionism - mind and body are separate but interact
- Mind is created by God
- Body is basically a machine
- Interaction occurs through the pineal gland (called the seat of the soul)
24
Q
How does Descartes describe interaction between mind and body?
A
- Caused by animal spirits that move through nerve tubes (i.e., neural transmission) and make an impression on the pineal gland
- The mind then creates and impression (i.e., storing a memory). So body influences the mind
- The opposite can occur. The mind can make an impression on the pineal gland, which then sends animal spirits to the body (i.e., top-down processing)
25
What are the two types of ideas that Descartes described the mind producing?
1. Derived ideas - produced by the direct application of an external stimulus (i.e., anything in the environment, like the idea of a chair triggered by looking at a log)
2. Innate ideas - ideas that arise from the mind or consciousness, independent of sensory experiences or external stimuli (i.e., God, the Self, perfection, and infinity). Makes us different from other animals
26
What were some of Descartes major contributions to psychology?
- The genesis of stimulus-response and behaviourism
- The study of consciousness
- Reflex actions
Localization of mental functions
- Innate ideas
- Furthering the mind-body debate
- Did not test his contributions using empiricism, but got the ball rolling for other philosophers
27
Who was Auguste Comte?
- 200 years after Descartes
- Taught philosophy to numerous scientists, but not an academic
- Suffered from mental illness and dementia
- Introduced Positivism
28
What's Positivism?
- Popularized by Auguste Comte
- Recognizes only natural phenomena or facts that are objectively observable
- A rejection of the subjective and the metaphysical (i.e., scientists should not discuss the soul)
- Comte was a hardcore atheist
29
What are the major principles of British empiricism?
- One of the most influential groups in Western psychology
- Knowledge comes from experience (there are numerous forms of experience)
- Primary data is gathered from the senses
- Propositions about the world are based on how sensory experiences are interpreted (i.e., context is important; like social psychology)
30
Who was John Locke?
- Born to a land owner (rich)
- Lived through a civil war, which shaped his political views
- Attended Oxford university, later taught there for over 30 years
- Coup against King Charles II
- Fled to Holland, where he wrote "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding"
31
What did John Locke think of Descartes' innate ideas?
- Disagreed with Descartes
- Did not think we are born with innate ideas instilled by God
- If this were true, all humans would have the same ideas
- All knowledge comes from experience, parents, etc.
32
What major concept was John Locke obsessed with?
- Concerned with how the mind acquires knowledge
- Liked Aristotle's "Tabula Rasa" (blank slate)
- Suggested we are taught ideas
- Ideas come from: Sensation and reflection (today would be perception)
33
How did John Locke describe sensation and reflection?
1. Sensation - Derived from direct sensory input; always appear first; sensory inputs from the environment lead to sense impressions
2. Reflection - A group of sense impressions combine to form higher-level ideas
34
What were John Locke's simple and complex ideas?
Simple ideas:
- Elementary ideas that arise from sensation and reflection
- They are basic, and cannot be subdivided into other ideas
Complex ideas:
- Derived ideas that are compounded of simple ideas and can be reduced to smaller components
35
What's John Locke's Theory of Association?
- Knowledge results from linking or associating simple ideas to form complex ideas
- An early theory of learning
- Noted that there are sequences of ideas. Some ideas appear to 'go along' with others. One idea appears, and then a related idea appears (supporting the idea of nodes in memory)
36
What's the difference between primary and secondary qualities according to John Locke?
- Both are features of our physical world
- Primary qualities - characteristics that exist whether or not we perceive them; they never change (e.g., size and shape)
- Secondary qualities - Exist in our perception of the object (e.g., color and odor; a tickle caused by a feather)
37
What was Locke's Paradox of the Basins?
- There are three basins of hot water: (A) One hot, (B) one cold, and the other (C) warm
- Place a hand in A, other in B
- Then place both in C
- The 'hot' hand will feel cold and vice versa
- 'Warm' water doesn't change but the temperature did (secondary quality)
38
What were some of Locke's thoughts concerning education?
- Nurture was more important than nature
- Avoid harsh punishment in the classroom
- Teachers should make learning pleasant
- Teach concepts in pieces
- Praise the child's accomplishments (not their character)
- Hardening: have children sleep on hard beds and discourage crying
39
Who was George Berkeley?
- Born in Ireland
- Attended Trinity College in Dublin as a teenager
- Became an Anglican deacon in his twenties
- Bishop of Cloyne in County Cork, Ireland
- UC Berkeley named after him
40
What did Berkeley disagree with Locke on?
- Thought that only secondary qualities exist
41
What was Berkeley's idea regarding mentalism?
- All knowledge is a function of mental phenomena and dependent on the perceiving/experiencing person (i.e., we can never really agree on anything being the same)
- We can never truly know the physical properties of an object
- Our reality is perception, nothing more
42
What was Berkeley's Association of Sensations?
- Applied principles of association to real world
- Each sense provides a unique idea (piece of information)
- Ex. The different types of associations that come to mind when people think of sledding (some may enjoy the feel of the sleigh, some may not)
43
Who was James Mill?
- Major father-son duo
- Born in Scotland, son of a shoemaker
- Very demanding mother, strict regimen of studying
- Studied at University of Edinburgh, was a Presbyterian preacher, then a teacher
- Collaborator of Jeremy Bentham (a well-known philosopher of the time)
44
What was James Mill's major idea concerning the function of the mind?
- Adamant that the mind was simply a machine, where emotions are just noise
- Predictable and mechanical in function, like a clock
- External forces set off internal forces in the mind
- Therefore, the mind is passive in nature
- No such thing as free will
45
What were James Mill's ideas concerning Associationism?
- Association is also mechanical
- Sensations come together to produce an idea mechanically
- These ideas happen in the same order as corresponding sensations
46
Which two factors did James Mill think altered the strength of associations?
1. Vividness - more vivid sensations (i.e., think memory recall)
2. Frequency - more frequent pairing of sensations
47
Who was John Stuart Mill?
- Son of James Mill
- Difficult childhood
- Raised using Associationism
- 'Blank slate', constant tutoring
- Learned Greek by age 3, algebra by 8
- Was raised as a 'logical machine' with many bouts of depression
- Household without love, only fear
48
What was John Stuart Mill's relationship with Harriet Taylor?
- Met Harriet Taylor when he was 25
- She was married with children, had a close platonic relationship for 20 years
- They married after she was widowed, but she died at 50, a few years later
- Built a cottage near her grave
- Developed a platonic relationship with Helen, Harriet's daughter
- They promoted feminism and equality
49
What were John Stuart Mills ideas concerning mental chemistry?
- Complex ideas not summations of simple ideas (against his father's ideas)
Rather, creative synthesis:
- Complex ideas formed from simple ideas also take on new qualities
- Combination of mental elements creates something greater than elements
- Much like chemistry (i.e., in baking, the individual ingredients don't taste well
50
What were J. S Mill's ideas on human nature?
- Thought that cognitions, emotions, behaviour are difficult to predict on their own
- Context is important; we don't always know what social situation the person will be placed in (linked to social psychology)
- There are many 'secondary causes' from the environment
- We can deduce some likely behaviours based on sensations and associations
51
What was J. S. Mill's activities as a social reformer?
- Believed that science would prove equality between sexes
- Wrote "The Subjection of of Women"
- Credited as the first 'liberal'
- Utilitarianism like his father and Bentham. Means you should seek pleasure in like, but thought intellectual pleasures were superior to physical; limit the influence of others (ex. the King, government)
52
What were the major contributions that British empiricism made to psychology?
- Primary role of the process of sensation
- Analysis of conscious experience into mental elements
- Synthesis of elements into complex mental experiences through the process of association
- Focus on conscious processes
