Descartes Mechanism Theory

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The unique and foremost influence to psychology that Descartes had was his consideration of the mind-body interaction. Descartes lived as a French philosopher and mathematician who; in the early 17th century, agreed with the notion of a clockwork universe. According to the text, this notion of the times proposed that the universe could be likened to a clock due to the fact of its constancy, predictability, and exactitude. The clock could act as an allegory to expound upon the workings of the universe as a harmonious and orderly mechanism created by God (Schultz & Schultz, 2012).
Descartes wanted to address the mind- body problem under the mechanistic viewpoint that stemmed from the idea of the clock work universe. The mechanism doctrine …show more content…
Galvani suggested that nerve impulses were electrical in nature and that the nervous system operated like a conductor of these electrical impulses (Schultz & Schultz, 2012). This corresponds with Cajal’s work, who “found that nerve fibers were composed of separate structures (neurons) that somehow were connected to specific points (synapses)” (Schultz & Schultz, 2012). This research prompted Herman von Helmholtz; who stressed a mechanistic attitude supposing a person’s senses performed comparably to machines. He wanted to determine reaction times of neural impulses which were the mechanism that influenced reflexive actions. These three scientists’ research was predicated by the theories of …show more content…
Both were influenced by Descartes theories about the association of mind and body. Weber’ research offered a technique for examining the connection amid the body and the mind. He indicated that stimuli had a subsequent effect on sensation. His discovery of the two point threshold and the just noticeable difference; demonstrates the significance of the bodies connection to the mind’s perception. Together, these measures reveal the inception of a psychological effect produced by a stimulus. This is the essence of Desecrates’ two way street of mind and

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