Chapter 2: Part 1 The “Dark Ages” Rome Collapses in the 5th Century C.E. European communities fracture and disconnect from North Africa and the Byzantine Empire

The European Renaissance Florence Italy ~ 1400 –Art meets architecture –Availability of paper makes communication efficient –Travel and commerce generate wealth and drive the formalization of politics –The Catholic Church loses its authority in explaining the natural world

The Spirit of Mechanism 17 th to 19 th century zeitgeist reflected in: –Amusement with mechanical figures –The universe as a enormous machine –Mechanism: all natural processes are mechanically determined

Beginnings of Modern Science and Physics (natural philosophy) Bacon: Methodological unity of science Galileo: Planetary movement and challenges to dogma Newton: Planets moved by invisible forces, not by contact Newton ( ) Galileo ( ) Bacon ( )

Distinguishing Features of Science Observation Experimentation Measurement –If scientists could grasp the laws by which the world functioned, they could determine its future course

The Clockwork Universe Clock as metaphor for mechanism –Produced in quantity and variety –Clocks were Available to all people Regular Predictable Precise

Determinism and Reductionism Determinism: acts are caused by past events For the universe as with a clock, –Its parts function with order and regularity –We can understand its functions and functioning –We can predict changes that will occur from its past and present characteristics

Determinism and Reductionism Reductionism: If you break it down, it can be understood –Reduce a clock to its components such as springs and wheels to understand its functioning Analyzing or reducing the universe to its simplest parts will produce understanding Characteristic of every science

Automata Designs were mimicking human behavior and cognitive function Vaucanson's Flute-Player (1738)Babbage’s Calculator (1820s)

The Beginnings of Modern Science The pursuit of knowledge through observation and sensory experience –Replaced dogma and church doctrine as ruling forces of inquiry –Descartes: symbol of the transition to free scientific inquiry and forerunner of modern psychology

René Decartes ( ) –Born in France –Inherited wealth allowed him to travel and pursue intellectual and scientific interests –Attracted to applied research

The Contributions of Descartes The mind-body problem –“Are mind and body—the mental world and the material world—distinct, or one?” –Pre-Descartes direction: mind influences body, but not vice versa; Mind is master of mental and material aspects. –Descartes: A two-way street!

Descartes (continued) Single function of mind: thought Diverted attention from the soul to the scientific study of mind. Descartes shifted the methods of intellectuals: from metaphysical analysis to objective observation and experimentation

Descartes (continued) The Body is matter (an automaton) –Has extension and capacity for movement –Laws of physics and mechanics –Nerves are pipes, muscles and tendons are engines and springs –Reflex action is not voluntary but due to external objects –Human behavior is predictable if inputs are known

Descartes (continued) The mind-body interaction –Mind Is nonmaterial Is unitary Thinks, perceives, wills Provides information about the external world Influences and is influenced by the body Has the brain as its focal point

Descartes (continued) Conarium (pineal gland) –Single and unitary –Material –The site of the mind-body interaction

Descartes (continued) The Doctrine of Ideas –Derived ideas Occur from contact with an external stimulus such as the touch of a hot stove Are products of the experiences of the senses (e.g., The concept of heat) –Innate ideas Develop from within the mind rather than through the senses

Descartes in Sum –The mechanistic conception of the body –The theory of reflex action –The mind-body interaction –The localization of mental functions in the brain –The Doctrine of Ideas

Part 2: Scientific Revolution What events led to the scientific revolution in Europe? Who were the major figures? Consider how this will be important for Psychology. Next: Quick review of European Philosophers.

Foundations of Psychology European philosophy –Auguste Comte ( ): Father of Positivism In the attempt to review all human knowledge, limited his work to scientific facts refers to the “objects of sense,” rather than “nonsense”

Foundations of Psychology European philosophy –Materialism: “the doctrine that considers the facts of the universe can be described in physical terms.” Consciousness explained in terms of physics and chemistry Mental processes due to physical properties: brain anatomy and physiology

Foundations of Psychology European philosophy –Empiricism : “the pursuit of knowledge through objective observation and sensory experience –This is the foundation of the scientific method

Philosophical Movements ( s) Positivism, Materialism, Empiricism all supported the foundations of modern science For psychology: If behavior and consciousness is the result of material forces (materialism) and if material forces can be understood through observation (empiricism), then behavior can be studied scientifically.

John Locke ( ) Taught Greek, writing, and philosophy and practiced medicine in England Politics: secretary to the Earl of Shaftsbury Fled to Holland when the earl was found to be part of a plot to overthrow King Charles II Returned to England, resumed politics, wrote education, religion, and economics books

Locke (continued) How does the mind acquire knowledge? –Rejected existence of innate ideas –Any apparent innateness due to early learning and habit –All knowledge is empirically derived: mind as a tabula rasa or blank slate

Locke’s Types of Experience –Sensations: input from external physical objects experienced as sense impressions, which operate on the mind –Reflections: mind operates on the sense impressions to produce ideas –Reflections require info from past sensations – can be combined to form new ideas

Locke’s Types of Ideas –Simple Arise from either sensation or reflection “Received passively from the mind” “Cannot be analyzed or reduced to even simpler ideas” –Complex Creation of new ideas through reflection Combinations of simple ideas Can be analyzed and/or reduced

Locke’s Theory of Association –Association = learning –Linking of simple ideas/elements into complex ones –Complex ideas do not appear from thin air, they are built from simple experiences –Laws of association akin to laws of mechanics; Mind = machine

Lockes’ Types of Qualities Primary qualities: objective, exist independently of being experienced (perceived) –Object size, shape, weight Secondary qualities: subjective, exist in the experience of the object –Color, odor, sound, taste, warmth or coldness A feather tickles because of our reaction to it, not the feather itself

John Locke ( ) Locke was the first philosopher to define the self through a continuity of "consciousness."

George Berkeley (1685 – 1753) George Berkeley ( ) –Nothing exists without our perceptions. –Q: Why do we all perceive the same thing? –A constant observer (God) maintains constant qualities

George Berkeley (1685 – 1753) Agreed with Locke’s assertion that all knowledge comes from experience, but.. Perception is the only reality –Primary qualities do not exist if not perceived, thus ALL qualities are secondary qualities –Mentalism: “the doctrine that all knowledge is a function of mental phenomena and dependent on the perceiving or experiencing person.”

David Hume ( ) Extremely reductionist approach; we are just organisms reacting to the environment Denied the concept of self Our personalities are just collections of perceptions

British Empiricism David Hume ( ) –So, Mr. Hume, from what do we get our sense of self? –The self is nothing but our own way of perceiving a succession of ideas. –Causation is nothing but our impulse to attach corresponding events (the view of a fire and the feeling of heat)

John Stuart Mill ( ) –Unceasingly drilled with hours and hours of facts –Could read Plato in Greek at 3 –Was a child prodigy who was clinically depressed by 21 –Harriet Taylor was the love of his life –Championed women’s rights

Mill (continued) Mental chemistry –“Complex ideas are more than the sum of simple ideas.” –Creative synthesis: a combination of mental elements always produces some distinct quality –His model: research in chemistry rather than physics

Empiricism’s Legacy Methods of approach: atomistic, mechanistic, positivistic Emphases of empiricism –Primary role of sensation –Analysis of conscious experience into elements –Synthesis of elements through association –Focus on conscious processes Mid-19 th century: philosophy augmented by the methods of experimental physiology

Empiricism’s Legacy The theoretical stage is set. –The mind is not mystical and is influenced, or even created, by events in the natural world. –We need someone to provide some experimental support. –This will come from medicine, anatomy, and physiology. (Chapter 3)