Essay On Cartesian Dualism

In psychology there are a variety of differing perspectives and opposing schools of thought about how we should view human behaviour. These range from the genetic view of the world, to the more mechanical cognitive school, to work of Sigmund Freud and on to the ideas of the more scientific behaviourists in the twentieth century. All of these perspectives developed in different ways and have differing ideas as to how human behaviour is best explained and this essay will look at and aim to evaluate these differing schools of thought.
The origins of the psychological thinking can be considered go back to Rene Descartes’ concept of Cartesian dualism, positing the idea that the human mind could be viewed as separate from the body (Hatfield, 2014). The biomedical view was greatly influenced by the work of Charles Darwin who published his theory of evolution by natural selection in 1859. In this Darwin put forward the idea that species gradually adapt their genetics to their environment over extended periods of time and that those species which fail to adapt are more likely to go extinct. The biological model emphasises the importance of genetic inheritance and looks at the structure of the brain and the nervous system. The brain is split into three main parts, the …show more content…
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