1. Philosophical Influences on Psychology
Chapter 2:
Philosophical Influences on Psychology
Defecating duck – machine built in 1793 in Paris (by Jacques de Vaucanson) – could quack, put out head to take food, swallow it, and defecate
Machine made of cogs, levers, springs
Wing alone – over 400 parts
Fun automaton site:
The Defecating Duck

2. 17th to 19th century Automata Industrial machinery Clocks
People fascinated with machines like duck
Automata – machines that could operate on their own – reports of automata as far back as Greece, in China, Leonardo Da Vinci drawings
Such plans rediscovered during Renaissance (14th-17th c.)
Machines started becoming common in everyone’s life,
ex. used in industry to grind grain with water/wind instead of having to do it by hand, pulleys, etc.
Clocks
Seemed to be no limit to what machines could do
Clock makers used concepts of physics to make clocks, levers, pulleys etc
Original physicists like Galileo (17th c.) and Newton (18th c.) were trained to use and make these machines
When they started trying to understand the universe, and make basic laws that would predict what happened, they drew on their experience with machines

3. René Descartes (1596-1650) Reflex action theory
Human behavior is predictable if inputs are known
Descartes in garden with automated figures – water in pipes, could move, play instruments when people stepped on hidden plates
New idea – that our bodies and bodies of animals work just like automaton and other machines
Reflex action theory – external event brings about an involuntary response
Nerves are pipes, which sense heat or pain and opened “pores” in the brain.
Pores release animal spirits which flow through hollow tubes in the body.
Reservoirs in the muscles would fill with these spirits, causing the foot to pull away from the fire.
Muscles and tendons are engines and springs
Remember, action not voluntary but due to external objects
Human behavior is predictable if inputs are known

4. René Descartes
Diverted attention from the soul to the scientific study of mind.
Shifted the methods of intellectuals:
metaphysical analysis  objective observation and experimentation
Why was this so important for psychology?
1. It allowed scientists to start thinking about how physical aspects of the body could be related to our thoughts and perceptions
In other words, we see because images enter our eyes, cause changes in the physical structures there, and influence our perceptions
According to Descartes, mind’s only function was to think, all other functions, like perceiving, reproduction, movement, all done by body
Diverted attention from the soul to the scientific study of mind.
2. Shifted the methods of intellectuals:
metaphysical analysis  objective observation and experimentation
Descartes bothered b/c ancients all had different answers to various questions
He decided to doubt everything and test all ideas
believed that math could be applied to all things in life, and decided to doubt anything that he couldn’t find some convincing evidence for

5. René Descartes The mind-body problem Pre-Descartes
mind influences body, but not vice versa; the puppeteer and puppet
Descartes: a mutual interaction
Mind and body both influence each other
Pineal gland
The site of the mind-body interaction
The mind-body problem – is there something about us that can be separated from our physical bodies?
Why/how is a live person different from a dead one?
Pre-Descartes
mind (divine spirit, from God) influences body, but not vice versa; the puppeteer and puppet
Descartes: a mutual interaction
Mind and body both influence each other
Pineal gland - The site of the mind-body interaction
How did he think this worked?
Interesting tidbit about Descartes: he had poor health, so was allowed to stay in bed until noon; the mornings is when he did most of his important thinking

6. René Decartes Support of Christian thought
Animals do not possess souls, feelings, immortality, thought processes, or free will
Animal behavior: explained totally in mechanistic terms
Support of Christian thought
Animals do not possess souls, feelings, immortality, thought processes, or free will
Animal behavior: explained totally in mechanistic terms

7. Zeitgeist of 17th to 19th century
Mechanism:
the universe viewed as an enormous machine
Matter made up of small parts (atoms), that interacted in a predictable manner (i.e., they were mechanical )
Therefore, natural processes can be measured and explained logically
Am going to talk about some general ideas that influence both the philosophers and the physiologists of this time period
were trained to use and make these machines
When they started trying to understand the universe, and make basic laws that would predict what happened, they drew on their experience with machines
Mechanism:
Original physicists like Galileo (17th c.) and Newton – trained as a clockmaker, incidentally (18th c.) started thinking of …
the universe viewed as an enormous machine
Matter made up of small parts (atoms) that interacted in a predictable manner (i.e., they were mechanical )
all natural processes were mechanical (ie, like billiard balls, hit one in a particular way, it will hit others, and have a certain result)
((Galileo: matter is comprised of atoms that affect one another by direct contact
People assumed that, like physics, behavior has parts
Newton: movement was not by actual physical contact but by (invisible) forces that attract and repel atoms
But what creates motion does not have to visible))
Therefore, natural processes can be measured and explained logically
Hitting pool balls with a cue ball…
Psych ex. memory – studying for a test
The machine they used as a model was the clock
Why a clock?
Clocks useful to psychologists for explaining psychology to general public because….
Clocks were: predictable, precise, and available to all levels of society (in literature, in gardens, in clock towers, which meant everyone could grasp the concept)
Another conclusion: god is a mathematician/clockmaker
In other words, everything is predictable, which emphasized that God created a perfect world
This idea carries over to current ideas:
when we are mentally unwell, something is “broken”
Also seen in popular lit like Frankenstein and Wizard of Oz books

8. If it is possible to measure every aspect of the natural universe and
If scientists could grasp the laws by which the world functioned,
They would be able to determine its future course
If it is possible to measure every aspect of the natural universe
and
If scientists could grasp the laws by which the world functioned,
They would be able to determine its future course

9. Zeitgeist of 17th to 19th century
Reductionism:
We can reduce a clock to its components, such as springs and wheels, to understand its functioning
Implies that analyzing or reducing the universe to its simplest parts will produce understanding of it
Characteristic of every science
Has anyone taken a machine apart just to see what was inside?
Reductionism:
We can reduce a clock to its components, such as springs and wheels, to understand its functioning
Implies that analyzing or reducing the universe to its simplest parts will produce understanding of it
Characteristic of every science
Current ideas: trying to figure out what every part of our nervous systems do
If we know what each of the neurotransmitters does, we can figure out the system and how it works

10. Zeitgeist of 17th to 19th century
Determinism:
every act is caused by past event(s)
no free will
As with a clock, the universe…
has parts that function with order and regularity
once clock is set in motion, events will continue in a predictable manner without outside influence
Determinism:
every act is caused by past event(s)
no free will
As with a clock, the universe…
has parts that function with order and regularity
once clock is set in motion, events will continue in a predictable manner without outside influence

11. The calculating engine
Created by Charles Babbage (19th c.)
Machine did basic math, had memory, played games
First successful attempt to duplicate human cognitive processes
Example of … all three ideas at work
Calculating engine
Created by Charles Babbage (19th c.)
Machine did basic math, had memory, played games
This is where modern computers came from
First successful attempt to duplicate human cognitive processes, first artificial intelligence
2 + 4 = 6
5 - 2 = 3

12. Zeitgeist of 17th to 19th century
Empiricism:
the pursuit of knowledge through observation
Empiricism: the pursuit of knowledge through observation
New idea at time –
Remember how I said greek philosophers tried to understand universe? Intuition, thought experiments
For a long time, people thought of these philosophers as gods that could do no wrong,
Their ideas were treated like gospel, not to be questioned (think of the buildings of greece today, how impossible it may have seemed to be to make such things)
During Renaissance (14-17th c.) it occurred to people like Descartes that maybe they could contribute something to knowledge too
(before that they tended to just remake constructs that Greeks had left plans for, or recalculating the same equation, verifying it, learning the concepts to use in practical matters)
Ex. descartes’ reflex action theory, did a lot of dissections for anatomical drawings
Remember, Descartes believed that math could be applied to all things in life, and decided to doubt anything that he couldn’t find some convincing evidence for – he believed in empiricism as a method of discovery for at least items that are associated with the body

13. Review of Zeitgeist Mechanism Reductionism Determinism Empiricism
the universe viewed as an enormous machine
Matter made up of small parts (atoms), that interacted in a predictable manner (i.e., they were mechanical )
Therefore, natural processes can be measured and explained logically
Reductionism:
We can reduce a clock to its components, such as springs and wheels, to understand its functioning
Implies that analyzing or reducing the universe to its simplest parts will produce understanding of it
Characteristic of every science
Determinism:
every act is caused by past event(s)
no free will
As with a clock, the universe…
has parts that function with order and regularity
once clock is set in motion, events will continue in a predictable manner without outside influence
Empiricism:
the pursuit of knowledge through observation

14. René Descartes The doctrine of ideas Derived ideas Innate ideas
Products of the experiences of the senses
Innate ideas
Develop from within the mind rather than through the senses
The doctrine of ideas – mind produces two kinds of ideas
Derived ideas – come from external stimuli, products of the experiences of the senses
ex: sound of a ball, smell of a rose,
Innate ideas - develop from within the mind rather than through the senses, external stimuli not necessary to have these ideas
ex: idea of God, self or perfection

15. John Locke (1632-1704) An essay concerning human understanding (1690)
“Marks the formal beginning of British empiricism”
Don’t have time to look at all British empiricism, so just going to give you a taste
John locke : An essay concerning human understanding (1690), where he rejects all ideas of innate concepts (opposing Platonists of that time)
In other words, the concept of God is not born with us, not innate, but something that we have learned – calls into doubt the very existence of God; and no such thing as right and wrong, since they vary so much in different cultures – if such an idea were innate, it should be the same in all cultures
“Marks the formal beginning of British empiricism”
Called empiricists b/c believed that the mind formed by empirical ideas (ideas/thoughts from experiences)

16. 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
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

17. Locke (continued) Two kinds of experiences
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
Sensations always precede reflections
Two kinds of experiences
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
Sensations always precede reflections
Hand in hot water/cold water then tepid water story

18. Locke’s Theory of association
Simple ideas (atoms of the mental world)
Complex ideas
Association = learning
Linking of simple ideas/elements into complex ones
Theory of association
Simple ideas (atoms of the mental world), cannot be reduced to any smaller ideas; red
We learn concept of “whiteness” by noticing a particular hue in things that are white, like a bone, a sail, milk, then we ignore all of the differences of these objects
Complex ideas – combinations of simple ideas; apple
Association = learning
Linking of simple ideas/elements into complex ones

19. James Mill Believed in only derived (experiential) ideas
Taught son to read plato by age 3, went through college stuff by 12, age 21, major depression

20. John Stuart Mill Believed in both innate and derived ideas
Creative synthesis
Believed in both innate and derived ideas, thought mind actively tried to associate ideas
Creative synthesis – idea that when you combine simple ideas to form complex ones, you also create new qualities that weren’t there before
Based on findings in chemistry (ex. H + O create water)
In some ways all british empiricists dealing the concept of what is reality – which is really just another way of asking, can we trust our senses
Emp proposed some ideas, but did not generally perform experiments to verify them
Next chapter is all about the people who did try to answer the question of how do we perceive, who looked at physical body parts and measured perceptions to study them