Philosophical Influences in Psychology
Mechanism
The doctrine that natural processes are mechanically determined and capable of explanation by the laws of physics and chemistry.
Determinism and Reductionism
the doctrine that acts are determined by past events
Are people like machines?
Can we predict behavior just as we would with a mechanism?
Charles Babbage
(1791-1871)Babbage created the first analytical computer. Also disliked organ grinders
Ada, the Countess of Lovelace (not a porn star)
The Beginnings of Modern Science
Empiricism: the pursuit of knowledge through the observation of nature and the attribution of all knowledge to experience.
Rene Descartes (nativist)
"Cogito ergo sum."
1596-1650
Rene Descartes
Mechanism
Mind-Body problem
The question of the distinction between mental and physical qualities.
Reflex-Action Theory
The idea that an external object (a stimulus) can bring about an involuntary response.
Mind-body Interaction
Doctrine of Ideas
Derived ideas: are produced by the direct application of an external stimulus; innate ideas arise from the mind or consciousness, independent of sensory experiences or external stimuli.
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
Positivism: The doctrine that recognizes only natural phenomena or facts that are objectively observable
Materialism: the doctrine that considers the facts of the universe to be sufficiently explained in physical terms by the existence and nature of matter.
British Empiricists
John Locke (1632-1704)
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Tabula Rasa
Sensation and Reflection
Simple vs. complex ideas
Primary Vs. Secondary Qualities
George Berkeley (1685-1753)
Perception is the only reality
Taken from http://homepages.nyu.edu/~iav202/powers/berkeley.html
Group Alliances:
"Brutal" British Empiricists
"Infamous" Idealists
Catholic Church
AKA: Shark-ley Berkeley
No Holds Barred-keley
Da Bishop
George "You're Berking Up the Wrong Tree" Berkeley
Powers: God on his side (not a unique power among Moderns), ninja
stealth skills
Weaknesses: eye-closing defense is vulnerable to Samuel Johnson's™
Rock-Kicking® attack.
David Hume (1711-1776)
Nationality: Scottish
Group Alliances:
"Brutal" British Empiricists
"Scary" Skeptics
AKA: Boomin' Hume
The Hume-an Time Bomb
Doom Hume
To Hume Am I Speaking?
The Inductor
Powers: Scottish Karate, local skepticism
Weaknesses: Never really sure about anything other than the contents
of his own experience
Notes: Look! Hume's pants are the missing shade of blue!
David Hartley 1773-1836
Association by contiguity and repetition
Looked at physiological as well as mental processes
Doctrine of vibrations
James Mill (1773-1836)
Scottish
No one understands my sermons
The mind as a machine
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
Creative synthesis: the notion that complex ideas formed from simple ideas take on new qualities; the combination of the mental elements creates something greater than or different from the sum of the
original elements.
I heart Harriet Taylor