UND History of Psychology Questions

1. Chapter 6 Assignment. Compare and contrast, in table form, the viewpoints of Immanuel Kant, Georg Hegel, and Johann Herbart. Present at least six ideas for each philosopher, more are welcome. Mark ideas that are alike amongst all three of them with an “A”.  Mark things that are similar between Kant and Hegel with a KH, things that are similar between Kant and Herbart with a KJ, and things that are similar between Hegel and Herbart with an HH.  Mark ideas that are dissimilar between all with an * The PowerPoint is attached.

Chapter 4 Renaissance Science and Philosophy LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading and discussing Chapter 4, students should: • • • • Be familiar with the major themes of Renaissance humanism. The Renaissance indicates an interest in human beings, their activities, abilities, and capabilities. Be acquainted with the views and works of the humanists of the Renaissance. Be aware of some other events that contributed to the rise of humanism that stressed objective study of nature (the weakening of Church authority). Be familiar with Ptolemy’s view of the universe and the challenges to this view by Copernicus, Bruno, and • Kepler. Sli •Chapter 4 de 2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES (continued) • Be familiar with the many contributions to science of Galileo. • Be acquainted with Isaac Newton’s contributions and their impact on science in general. • Understand the impact that Francis Bacon’s radical empiricism had on the practice of science. • Be familiar with many ideas and observations of Rene Descartes and the impact of these on psychology. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 3 Challenges to Church Authority •Chapter 4 • Sli de 4 Challenges to Church Authority • Once questioning of “truths” began, it escalated rapidly • Decline in Church’s authority • Several factors contributed to the reawakening of the spirit of objective inquiry •Chapter 4 • Sli de 5 Challenges to Church Several factors contributed to the Authority reawakening of the spirit of objective inquiry (continued) • • Other events contributed to the decline of Church authority and acceptance of objective study of nature. • Exploration of Marco Polo from 1271 – 1295 of central Asia and China. • Invention of moveable type by Gutenberg • Discovery of the New World by Columbus • Luther’s challenge to Catholicism • Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 6 Renaissance Humanism •Chapter 4 • Sli de 7 Renaissance Humanism • Tendency to return to a more open-minded inquiry of earlier Greek philosophy • Moved from more God-centered interests to more human centered interests • Humans had reliable sensory systems, reasoning powers, and ability to enjoy • Abilities were God-given •Chapter 4 • Sli de 8 • Renaissance humanism • Renaissance Humanism Individualism • The concern for human potential and achievement. • • The individual has the power to make a positive effect in the world. Personal religion was the desire for a less formal, ritualistic religion, • Emphasis on religion experienced personally rather than imposed upon people by the church • Intense interest in the works of the early Greek and Roman poets, philosophers, and politicians. • Desire to read and study original writings, not interpretations • Marsilio Ficino founded a Platonic academy in Florence to promote Plato’s works, some of which were yet undiscovered •Chapter 4 • Sli de 9 Renaissance humanism (continued) Renaissance Humanism • • Anti-Aristotelianism • Wanted to stop the Church’s practice of strict adherence to Aristotelian science and philosophy as the prime authority with the Bible. • The combination of Aristotle’s philosophy and Christian theology, had created a complex set of rules, regulations, and beliefs that required blind acceptance to be a Christian. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 10 • Works of Renaissance humanists • Renaissance Humanism Francesco Petrarch • Many historians argue that his writings mark the beginning of the Renaissance. • Petrarch wanted a freeing of the human spirit from the medieval traditions. • Principally attacked Scholasticism • Believed the classics should be studied directly as works of humans and not interpreted or embellished by other humans. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 11 • Works of Renaissance humanists • Renaissance Humanism Francesco Petrarch (continued) • Petrarch desired a more personal religion based on the Bible, personal faith, and feelings. • Taught that God wanted humans to use their capabilities to actualize potential, and thus make the world better. • Skepticism toward all dogma paved the way for the development of modern science. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 12 • Renaissance Humanism Works of Renaissance humanists • Giovanni Pico • Proposed that humans only have capacity for change • Can choose to one of the following: • • Instinctual, sensual lives and become brutish Exercise rationality and intelligence and become more angelic and Godlike. • • We have the choice to accept any lifestyle and any viewpoint. Argued that all philosophical views were ultimately in agreement and all should be studied and assimilated into the Christian worldview. • In essence, he sought peace among philosophical and religious views. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 13 • • Renaissance Humanism Works of Renaissance humanists Desiderius Erasmus • Opposed fanatic belief in anything. • Criticized the classics, claiming that anything created by humans was inherently imperfect. • Attacked all forms of superstitions • Desired people to take lessons from simple life of Jesus instead of the pomp and circumstance of the Church. • Was generally critical of excesses of all kinds, both within the Catholic Church and the protestant religions. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 14 • Renaissance Humanism Works of Renaissance humanists • Desiderius Erasmus (continued) • He wrote The Praise of Folly in which he attacked the church, philosophers, and nobility. • His criticisms may have led to Martin Luther’s actions. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 15 • Renaissance Humanism Works of Renaissance humanists • Martin Luther • Insisted on an intensely personal religion (each person is answerable only to God) • Deemphasized ritual and church hierarchy. • Initiated the Reformation in 1517 by nailing Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. • Had progressive ideas about sex and marriage. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 16 • Renaissance Humanism Works of Renaissance humanists • Martin Luther (continued) • Stated that humans do not have free will; instead they are servants to the will of God. • • God is the only one who knows why evil exists. Led Protestantism, which denied the authority of the Pope and insisted that each person had the right to interpret the Bible for himself or herself. • • Early Protestantism was grim, austere, and unforgiving. It also insisted on accepting the existence of God on faith alone; trying to understand Him through reason was foolish. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 17 Renaissance Humanism Works of Renaissance humanists • • Michel de Montaigne • Proposed an extreme form of Skepticism by questioning the possibility of indisputable knowledge. • Human rationality caused most of human problems • Animals lack rational powers, therefore are superior to humans. • Rejected science as a means of attaining reliable knowledge because scientific “truth” is in constant flux. • Sensations are illusory • Did not share the optimism expressed by the earlier Renaissance humanists. • •Chapter 4 Sli de 18 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo •Chapter 4 • Sli de 19 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Ptolemy • Geocentric system of the universe • Earth is the center of all heavenly bodies • Part of Church dogma put man as center of the universe and creation. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 20 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Aristarchus of Samos • Believed that the earth rotates on its own axis and revolves around the sun with the rest of the planets • Idea conceived 1,700 years before Copernicus. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 21 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Copernicus • Proposed a heliocentric universe (earth and other planets revolve around the sun), a clear challenge to Church dogma which amounted to committing heresy • This opened many questions regarding Church dogma. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 22 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Bruno • Hermetism-professes the divinity of humans • Magical forces believed to be used to benefit humans, and • Believed in an innumerable number of inhabited worlds (solar systems) in which the sun is divine. • Convicted of heresy and eventually burned at the stake at Campo di Fiore in Rome. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 23 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Kepler • Accepted the heliocentric position • It explained the universe in a simple mathematical harmony. • Proved many of the mathematical details of the Copernican system • Anticipated Newton’s concept of gravity • Insisted that all mathematical deductions be verified by empirical observation. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 24 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Galileo • Set out to explain the true mathematical reality that existed beyond the world of appearances • Set out to correct misconceptions about the world and heavenly bodies. • Used scientific observations to exemplify laws and then followed by using mathematical deduction to describe the law, and thus, the universe. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 25 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Galileo (continued) • Objective reality • Exists independent of an individual’s perception • Includes what later would be called primary qualities, quantity, shape, size, position, and motion of objects. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 26 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo • Galileo (continued) • Subjective reality • Psychological experiences • Require a sensing organ • Later called secondary qualities • These are relative, subjective, and fluctuating • Include color, sound, temperature, and taste. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 27 Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, and • Galileo (continued) Galileo • Consciousness can never be studied by objective methods • Conscious experience is made of secondary qualities which cannot be described or understood mathematically. • Excluded from science much of what is traditionally included in psychology •Chapter 4 • Sli de 28 Isaac Newton •Chapter 4 • Sli de 29 Isaac Newton • Isaac Newton • Conceived of the universe as a complex, lawful machine created by God who then set in motion, after which He ceased involvement (later called deism). •Chapter 4 • Sli de 30 Isaac Newton • Isaac Newton (continued) • He set out to discover and describe the laws of nature, including gravitation. • Natural events can never be explained by postulating properties inherent in them. • Occam’s razor should be accepted • Newton observed this saying that the universe can be explained in terms of space, time, matter, and force. • Natural laws are absolute, but scientists may have to settle for probabilities rather than certainty. • Classification is not explanation. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 31 Francis Bacon •Chapter 4 • Sli de 32 Francis Bacon • Francis Bacon • Demanded that science be based on induction. • Argued that science should only include facts of observation • Maintained that science should not include theories, hypotheses, mathematics, or deductive methods • • Radical empiricism was later called positivism. Generalizations could be made from many observations with their similarities and differences noted and could be used to describe classes of events or experiences. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 33 Francis Bacon • Francis Bacon (continued) • Four sources of error that could hinder scientific investigation: • Idols of the cave • • Idols of the tribe • • Human nature biases Idols of the marketplace • • Personal biases Biases from too much influence of meaning assigned to words (verbal labels) Idols of the theater • Biases from blind allegiance to any viewpoint •Chapter 4 • Sli de 34 Francis Bacon • Francis Bacon (continued) • • Science should: • Provide useful information • Improve the world for the betterment of mankind Skinner and behavior analysis adopted the Baconian inductive method and the view that the main goal of science is to improve the human condition. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 35 Rene Descartes •Chapter 4 • Sli de 36 Rene Descartes • Sought to devise a system of explanation of the universe that could not be questioned or developed by self-exploration and observation. • Method was to determine that which was certain and then deduce other certainties (deductive method). • Through analysis of his own thoughts, he determined that some ideas are innate (natural components of the mind). • Innate ideas were unity, infinity, perfection, axioms of geometry, and God. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 37 Rene Descartes (continued) • In addition to the validity of rational processes, knowledge gained through the senses could be accepted because God, being perfect, would not and could not deceive us. • Sensory information had to be analyzed rationally to determine its validity. • Was a rationalist, a nativist (innate ideas), and a phenomenologist (introspectively study the nature of intact, conscious experience). •Chapter 4 • Sli de 38 Rene Descartes (continued) • Explained the behavior of animals including humans employing mechanical principles. Believed the nervous system was a set of hollow tubes connecting the sense receptors with cavities in the brain (the ventricles). • • • Contained animal spirits which flow through the nerves resulting in sensation and movement. By explaining both animal and human behavior in terms of mechanistic principles and reflexes, he made the study of animals legitimate. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 39 Rene Descartes (continued) • During sleep, there are random flows of animal spirits in the cavities of the brain, and every now and then, isolated cavities will be filled, which causes dreams. •Chapter 4 • Sli de 40 Rene Descartes (continued) • An important difference between animals and humans only humans have a mind • The mind provided consciousness, free will, and rationality. • However, the mind was nonphysical and the body was physical. • The nonphysical mind and the physical body can influence each other, thus (regarding the mind-body issue) he was a dualist and an interactionist. • He determined that the mind influenced the body at the • pineal gland in the brain. •Chapter 4 Sli de 41 Rene Descartes (continued) • Among Descartes’ contributions to psychology are: • The mechanistic explanations of behavior and many bodily functions • Could be said to have led to stimulus-response explanations and behaviorism. • • • • The focus on the brain as an important mediator of behavior. Description of the mind-body relationship provided others the opportunity to support or refute it. Studied the bodies of animals as a means to understand the functioning of human bodies • Led to physiological and comparative psychology. He paved the way for the scientific study of consciousness. • •Chapter 4 Sli de 42