Psych 210 Uvic (Chapter 2)

Front 1

What was the attitude towards Church authority near the end of the Renaissance?

Back 1

There was an Era of questioning the "truths" established by the Church.

E.g.,:

Andreas Vesalius: Anatomical studies (1543)

Nicholas Copernicus: Heliocentric theory (1543)

Galileo Galilei: Invention of telescope (1609)

Sir Francis Bacon: Inductive method
(1561‐1626)

Front 2

What does a rationalist believe?

Back 2

Rationalism: The theory that reason, rather than experience, is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.

Front 3

What were Descartes’s rules for discovering truth?

Back 3

Descartes' Method of Doubt:

1) Doubt everything; only accept clear and distinct ideas

2) Break problems into smaller sub-problems

3) Work from simplest to most complex problems

4) Confirm that all aspects of the phenomenon have been covered

Front 4

What are Clear and Distinct Ideas?

Back 4

Clear: Information is clearly represented in consciousness (i.e., its truth is self-evident)

Distinct: Ideas cannot be doubted to broken down for further analysis

** Clear and Distinct ideas are DISCOVERED as natural components of the mind and, thus, are not created.

Front 5

According to Descrates, what can we be certain of?

Back 5

All ideas can be doubted; except for the fact that we are thinking things (i.e., you cannot doubt this fact without THINKING it)

Hence, we cannot doubt our own existence as thinking things because, in order to do so, we must exist as thinking things. We must exist as thinking things in order to doubt our existence.

** "I think, therefore I am"

Front 6

Explain the difference between Innate and Derived ideas.

Back 6

Innate: Ideas from human intuition (e.g., infinity, perfection/God) which are not derived from direct experience

Dervied: Ideas from human experience (e.g., how long a candle will burn).

Front 7

What is the function of human intuition?

Back 7

Human intuition allows for an unbiased and attentive approach of mind in order to arrive at clear and distinct ideas.

** Experience/derived ideas aren't enough to accomplish this

Front 8

According to Descartes, why do our senses deceive us?

Back 8

Because we failed to use our unique ability of human intuition/reasoning.

"In fact, none of the errors to which men -- men I say, not brutes -- are liable is ever due to faulty inference. They are due only to the fact that men take for granted certain poorly understood experiences, or lay down rash or groundless judgments."

Front 9

How does Descartes reason that we can trust our senses?

Back 9

Innate Idea: All perfect God.

By deduction: An all perfect God would not deceive us and so we can trust our senses

** Knowledge of the world can be gained through experience but our experiences must be analyzed rationally.

Front 10

True or False?; Descrates' ideas were important to psychology because it established introspection as an appropriate and useful tool for studying the mind

Back 10

True!

Front 11

What is Dualism?

Back 11

An ontological perspective which asserts that mind and body consist of two separate and distinct substances and that these different substances are capable of interacting with one another.

Body: Infinitely divisible, material, lifeless and irrational.

Mind: Irreducible, nonmaterial and the source of life and rationality (i.e., 'the soul')

Front 12

What Zeitgeist of the time influenced Descartes' theory on reflex action?

What did he try to explain under this zeitgeist/metaphor?

Back 12

The automata/mechanistic zeitgeist.

He attempted to explain animal (and some human) behaviours through a mechanistic view.

Front 13

In reducing his problems to mechanistic explanations, what was Descartes begininng to do?

Back 13

He began to seek physiological explanations for these processes.

Front 14

What does a mechanist believe?

Back 14

That our behaviours are merely the result of the arrangement and activity of our physical parts (e.g., Our organs and nervous system)

"I should like you to consider that these functions (including passion, memory, and imagination) follow from the mere arrangement of the machine’s organs every bit as naturally as the movements of a clock or other automaton follow from the arrangement of its counter-weights and wheels."
~ Descartes

Front 15

How did Descartes attempt to explain a reflex?

What were the role of animal spirits?

Back 15

Nerves = Hollow tubes connected to the brain

Brain = Filled with 'animal spirits'

Sense Organs = Stimulation opens tubes/nerves, causing 'animal spirits' from the brain to flow through and "cause" behaviour.

Animal Spirits = Flows from the brain, through the nerves and to muscles in order to cause behaviour.

Front 16

True or False?; Evidence in Descartes' time appeared to show support for his theories

Back 16

False! Evidence at the time did not support his theories.

Front 17

What did Descartes' studies on reflex and 'animal spirits' justify the research on?

Back 17

Justified research on nonhuman animals to learn about humans.

Front 18

For Descartes, what was the importance of the pineal gland?

Back 18

The pineal gland appeared to be the only structure in the brain which was not duplicated in each hemisphere (i.e., the brain had only one)

He figured that the pineal gland must be where 'the soul' resides and takes control over the body.

Front 19

What is the mind-body problem?

Back 19

The problem, created effectively by Descartes' dualistic thinking, of having to explain how the different substances of the mind and body interact and function with one another.

Front 20

True or False?; Descartes sought a secure foundation for a science of human nature.

What did he find?

Back 20

True! He found himself to be a pure thinking 'thing'

Front 21

Explain the Cartesian Theatre.

How did this 'create' consciousness?

Back 21

The Self: Perceives representations of the external world

Generated: A 'new world' of 'ideas' perceived by 'the self' which is separate from the external world of objects.

** New world of inner ideas (i.e., consciousness) becomes the subject matter of psychology.

Front 22

Explain determinism and materialism and how Descartes tried to work around them.

Back 22

Determinism: All events are caused and, thus, can be explained by preceding events

Materialism: Only physical objects exists (i.e., everything is subject to physical laws and causes)

Descartes: The mind/soul is non-physical and, thus, we have 'free will' (i.e., the mind/soul is not subject to materialism and determinism).

Front 23

What is empiricism?

Back 23

An epistemological perspective which states that knowledge comes only (or primarily) from sensory experience.

** Rejection of innate ideas.

Front 24

What is associationism?

Back 24

The idea that cognition/mental processes operate according the principle of 'association'

(i.e., our current thoughts and ideas are linked, by some sort of association, with our past thoughts or ideas).

Front 25

Who are 3 important Empiricists who discussed?

Back 25

John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume

Front 26

According to empiricists, what is the subject of psychology?

Back 26

The world of ideas and associations as determined by our experiences.

Front 27

True or False?; John Locke believes that we know external objects and that our experiences are too unreliable to trust.

Back 27

False! John Locke believes that we know our ideas and experiences and NOT the external world.

Front 28

According to Locke, what is the "First fountain of knowledge"?

Back 28

First Fountain of Knowledge: Our sensory information about external objects.

Front 29

According to Locke, what is the "Second fountain of knowledge"?

Back 29

Second Fountain of Knowledge: Ideas regarding the internal operations of the mind.

** We can learn how the mind works through self-reflection (roots of introspection)

Front 30

What did Locke consider to be like “white paper”?

Back 30

He considered the mind to originate as a "blank slate" upon which experiences of external objects impressed themselves.

i.e., We are not born with innate ideas (ideas require experiences).

** A.k.a. "Tabula Rasa"

Front 31

Kant's quote "Sapere aude!" expresses the general attitude (i.e., zeitgeist) of what era?

Back 31

"Sapere aude!": "Dare to know!"

Embodies the attitudes of the Age of Enlightenment

** A courage to use reason to discover answers for yourself (sparked the scientific study of human nature)

Front 32

What did Galileo mean by Primary and Secondary qualities?

Back 32

Primary: Physically objective and inherent to the object (e.g., size, position and motion)

Secondary: Based on subjective experience (e.g., colour, smell, taste and sound).

Front 33

What does Locke mean by Simple and Complex ideas?

Back 33

Simple Ideas: Include primary and secondary qualities (e.g., size, position, motion, colour, smell, taste and sound).

Complex Ideas: A combination or association made between 2 or more simple ideas.

Front 34

What issue was posed to Locke in a letter from William Molyneux?

Back 34

Molyneux's problem: "if a man born blind can feel the differences between shapes such as spheresand cubes, could he similarly distinguish those objects by sight if given the ability to see?"

Front 35

True or False?; Like Locke, Berkeley believe that we only have access to our ideas (and not external objects).

Back 35

True! There is no rational basis for believing that anything exists outside of the mind.

Front 36

Why did Berkeley see a necessity for God?

Back 36

Need for God: The external physical world exists only because God perceives it.

Front 37

Why does Berkeley think we mistakenly believe in an external world?

Back 37

He found the greater the lesion, the grater the deficit!

** It appeared to have an effect on all faculties (if localized, lesions should leave some faculties in tact)

Front 38

True or False?; Descartes and Empiricists agree that we only have access to the internal world of ideas.

Back 38

True! But they differ in how they think we attain knowledge within this internal world

(i.e., Descartes believes it is through innate ideas and Empiricists think it is due to our personal experiences)