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History of Psychology > Problem 3 > Flashcards

Problem 3 Flashcards

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1
Q

Age of enlightenment

A

Period where autonomous thinking + observation became advocated as the primary sources of knowledge

  • -> no reliance on authority
  • -> 18th century
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2
Q

Positivism

A

Movement that promoted the view that knowledge can only be obtained by means of the scientific method

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3
Q

August Comte

A

Founder of sociology + positivism

–> advanced the hypothesis that civilizations pass through 3 progressive stages called the “Law of three stages”

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4
Q

Law of 3 stages of society

Comte

A
  1. Theocratic stage
    - -> Gods + spirits dominate the culture
  2. Metaphysical stage
    - -> Philosophical explanations dominated
  3. Positivistic stage
    - -> explanations were provided by natural sciences

=> as society reaches its maturity when scientific explanations become the MOTOR OF PROGRESS

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5
Q

Metaphysics

A

Refers to a branch of philosophy that aims to explain the fundamental nature of the world and the human being

–> “What is really here ?”

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6
Q

Why did the Age of enlightenment lead to the outbreak of the american war of independence + the french revolution ?

A

Both were intended to release the ruling powers by a more reasonable government inspired by the scientific method

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7
Q

How did Positivists justify their opinion that scientific knowledge should be the motor of all progress

A

Science is always right because.

  1. It is based on observation + experimentation
  2. Their theories are summaries of observations

–> therefore science must decide all choices to be made

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8
Q

Why did the Roman catholic church react negatively to the growing popularity of science ?

A

In their opinion, Scientific knowledge is dangerous if not guided by religious morals

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9
Q

Why did the Protestant churches react negatively to the growing popularity of science ?

A

In their opinion, Science still had to be guided by religion

–> BUT: many saw science as an ally rather than an adversary

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10
Q

Many protestant churches enjoyed good relationships with scientists and with Science in general.

Why did this stop in the 1870s?

A

Several books + journals were published, where scientific findings (great breakthroughs) didn’t go along with the beliefs of the church

–> this raised suspicion about the extent to which scientific progress has been hindered by religion

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11
Q

Humanities

A

Academic disciplines that continued the traditional study of the ancient classics, supplemented with contemporary literature + art

e.g.: literature, culture, art, history etc

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12
Q

Why did Edmund burke think that the French revolution was rather counterproductive to the evolution of societies/civilizations?

A

According to him, a drastic breach in traditions will tear apart the existing social tissue which will lead to a feeling of unsettlement among humans

–> one will risk destroying century long growth + evolution when existing costumes are changed too often + too drastically

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13
Q

Romantic movement

A

Movement that saw the universe as a changing organism, which is why it cannot be understood as a machine

  • -> the mind is free and spontaneous
  • -> late 18th, early 19th century

=> against mechanistic worldview
e.g.: individual, irrational, etc

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14
Q

What did the term “Two cultures” mean in the 20th century ?

A

Snow used it to stress that the divide between science + humanities/religion had led to a split of the intellectual life of the whole western society into 2 polar groups

–> he thought the divide was a loss for society because their interaction could be beneficial

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15
Q

(Cartesian) Dualism

Descartes

A

Refers to a distinction between the immaterial mind + the material body

–> the soul is separate, divine + independent of everything else

“Cogito ergo sum” = I think, therefore I am

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16
Q

Mechanistic view

A

Everything in the universe can be understood as a perfectly designed machine, made to function independently so God doesn’t have to attend to it

  • -> as the soul is divine it cannot be studied
  • -> counterargument to the teleological explanation
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17
Q

How did Newton resolve the question of why the earth is orbiting the sun ?

A

By using 3 mathematical laws that adequately described the movement if the copernican universe

–> suggested that scientific knowledge could be summarized in mathematical laws

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18
Q

Principia mathematica

A

Newtons book in which he presented his laws of physics

–> considered to be the primary reason for the increased status of science

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19
Q

Individualisation

A

Refers to a greater focus by individuals on themselves than not the groups they belong to

  • -> looser social relations
  • -> characteristic of current western society
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20
Q

What are the main contributors of individualization ?

A
  1. Increased complexity of society
    - -> w/ urbanisation people felt a greater need to compete with others
  2. Increased control by the state
    - -> more monitoring by the state, led to a feeling of standing out
  3. Individuality promoted christianity
    - -> private state of faith + relation to god
  4. Mirrors, books, letters
    - -> emotions
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21
Q

Epistemology

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A

Focused finding out the nature of knowledge, how do you construct it

e.g.: What is knowledge, how is it developed etc.

  • -> branch of philosophy
  • -> goes even deeper than introspection
22
Q

Rationalism

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A

Knowledge is obtained by means of deductive reasoning on the basis of INNATE knowledge

–> traditional view of understanding in philosophy
(Plato, Descartes)

23
Q

Empiricism

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A

Knowledge is obtained by means of perceptual experiences + inductive reasoning

–> there is no innate knowledge to start with

=> rise of empiricism lead to questioning of the rationalist view

(Locke, Berkley, Hume, Bacon)

24
Q

Idealism

Berkeley + Hume

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A

View that human knowledge is a construction of the mind + doesn’t necessarily correspond to an outside world

–> usually contrasted to realism

25
Realism | Kant
Assumes that every event has a cause due to the existence of cause-effect relationships in the outside world --> knowledge is determined by its correspondence with the outside world ex.: we think that the sun is the cause of light because the experiences of sun + light coincide
26
What is Kants view on the mind and its importance on knowledge ?
Sought to reconcile rationalism + empiricism by arguing that THE MIND 1. Imposes structure on the incoming sensory experiences 2. Requires a coherent + constant input to make sense of the input
27
On which points did Kant agree/disagree with Hume + Berkeley ?
Agree: We cannot have direct knowledge of the outside reality through perception Disagreed: Perception is much richer than suggested - -> its consciously perceived + thought about - -> combination of senses are formed into perception
28
What are the 4 parts in metaphysics ?
1. Ontology - -> universe + its entities 2. Natural theology - -> God(s) 3. Universal science - -> axioms + demonstrations on which theoretical knowledge is based 4. Psychology - -> added later
29
Rational psychology | Wolff
Psychology is based on axioms + deductions - -> approach that guarantees true conclusions about the human soul - -> allows for more involvement than mere observations
30
Introspection
Research method where a person looks inwards and reports what he or she is experiencing
31
Empirical Psychology | Wolff
Psychology is based on introspection - -> needs a close interaction between reason + observation - -> should aim for mathematical demonstrations
32
For which reasons, did KANT argue, that Psychology cannot be a proper science ?
1. The act of introspection changes the state of mind 2. Inner observations cannot be separated + recombined at will - -> can therefore not be formulated in mathematical laws Psychology = no science
33
For which reasons, did COMTE argue, that Psychology cannot be a proper science ?
According to him, the human mind can only be studied scientifically by focusing on 1. Physiology (biology) 2. Products of the human mind (Sociology) Psychology = no science
34
Interactionist dualism | Descartes
Refers to the fact that the mind can influence the body via the pineal gland
35
According to Descartes, human beings are capable of 2 important things. Which were they ?
1. Thought 2. Volition - -> Free will
36
Monism/Materialism
The body and mind are one, and not distinct from another --> counterargument to Dualism
37
Law of conservation
Energy is only transformed, never used up --> doesn't go with interactionist view, as this states that energy can be used up
38
John Locke | Empiricist
He rejected innate ideas, people were born without any knowledge and acquired it through experience --> Father of empiricism
39
Bishop Berkeley | Idealist
First person to raise discussion on idealism versus realism. - -> He agreed with ideas of empiricism and only believed in secondary qualities described by Locke - -> "Experience is all there is"
40
Hume | Idealist
‘Idealism questions the scientific attempt of unearthing causes and effects. Since causes are never observed directly, we derive them from experiencing the co-occurrence of phenomena. The mind simply infers causality from co-occurrence in time and place’.
41
Constructivism
The mind is a blank slate that can be filled up through time by experiences
42
Why did the Humanists react negatively to the growing popularity of science ?
They thought it was dangerous to exclusively think in a rational way, as the emotional aspect is important as well
43
Determinism
Understanding the order + regularities of past events which makes the world predictable --> changes occur in operation of a clock universe
44
Reductionism
The physical universe can be understood by analyzing or reducing it to its simplest parts: molecules and atoms
45
Mentalism | Berkeley
All knowledge is a function of mental phenomena and depends on the person perceiving or experiencing --> Perception is subjective and does not mirror external world --> Because all experience is within us, we can never know exactly the physical nature of objects
46
Which were the 4 counterforces opposed to positivism ?
1. Roman catholic church 2. Protestant church 3. Romanticists 4. Humanists
47
How do organizations in societies try to increase their power ?
1. Conflict + oppression 2. Alliance formation - -> when own power is threatened to ensure it 3. Exclusion of individuals ex. : Galileo
48
What lead to the diminishing of the churches power, ultimately resulting in the Enlightenment ?
1. Development of logic and mathematics in M.A. and Renaissance --> senses are deceptive and reason is the best guide to understand the world 2. Individualisation - -> made people question their role in society in which the church was useless --> Newton, Locke are key personalities
49
Mind-body problem
Question of the distinction between mental and physical qualities
50
Skepticism | Hume
We can no nothing at all with all certainty --> therefore we need to be skeptic

History of Psychology (9 decks)

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