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Hx Psyc > Chapter 2 (The Ancient World) > Flashcards

Chapter 2 (The Ancient World) Flashcards

1
Q

Theory of Mind

A

an area in cognitive development that concerns how we come to know the beliefs, feelings, plans, and behavioural intentions of other people

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2
Q

Neolithic Revolution

A

the time when humans first transitioned from living in small hunter-gatherer bands to become villagers, temple builders, and even city dwellers

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3
Q

Animism

A

belief that everything in nature is alive

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4
Q

Anthropomorphism

A

the projection of human attributes onto nonhuman things

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5
Q

Magic

A

various ceremonies and rituals that are designed to influence spirits and nature

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6
Q

Olympian Religion

A

the religion based on a belief in the Olympian gods as they were described in the Homeric poems. Olympian religion tended to be favoured by the privileged classes, whereas peasants, laborers, and slaved tended to favour the more mystical Dionysian-Orphic religion

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7
Q

Dionysiac-Orphic Religion

A

religion whose major belief was that the soul becomes a prisoner of the body because of some transgression committed by the soul. The soul continues on a circle of transmigrations until it has been purged of sin, at which time it can escape its earthly existence and return to its pure, divine existence among the gods. A number of magical practices were thought useful in releasing the soul from its bodily tomb

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8
Q

Transmigration of the soul

A

the Dionysiac-Orphic belief that because of some transgression, the soul is compelled to dwell in one earthly prison after another until it is purified. The transmigration may find the soul at various times in plants, animals, and humans as it seeks redemption

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9
Q

Thales

A

often called the first philosopher because he emphasized natural instead of supernatural explanations. By encouraging the critical evaluation of his ideas and those of others, he is thought to have started the Golden Age of Greek philosophy. He believed water to be the primary element which everything else was derived

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10
Q

Cosmology

A

the study of the origin, structure, and processes governing the universe

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11
Q

Physis

A

a primary substance or element from which everything is thought to be derived

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12
Q

Anaximander (ca. 610 - 547 BC)

A

suggested the infinite or boundless as the physis and formulated a rudimentary theory of evolution
o Studied with Thales
o Argued that even water was a compound of more basic material
o The physis was something that had the capability of becoming anything he said
o This “something” he called the boundless or the indefinite
o Also proposed a rudimentary theory of evolution

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13
Q

Heraclitus (ca. 540- 480 BC)

A

suggested fire as the physis because in its presence nothing remains the same. He viewed the world as in a constant state of flux and thereby raised the question as to what could be known with certainty
- nothing ever “is”; rather, everything is “becoming”
- his philosophy described the major problem inherent in various brands of empiricism
- also “being”

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14
Q

Becoming

A

Heraclitus
the state of everything in the universe. Nothing is static and unchanging, rather everything in the universe is dynamic- that is, becoming something other than what it was

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15
Q

Being

A

Heraclitus
something that is unchanging and thus, in principle, is capable of being known with certainty. Being implies stability and certainty; becoming implies instability and uncertainty

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16
Q

Paramenides (born ca. 515 BC):

A

believed that the world was solid, fixed and motionless and therefore that all apparent change or motion was an illusion
knowledge is attained only through rational thought because sensory experience provides only illusion

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17
Q

Zeno of Elea (ca. 495-430 BC):

A

a disciple of Paramenedes known for his clever examples and fables

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18
Q

Zeno’s Paradox

A

The assertion that in order for an object to pass from point A to point B, it must first traverse half the distance between those two points, and then half of the remaining distance, and so forth. Because this process must occur an infinite number of times, Zeno concluded than an object could logically never reach point B

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19
Q

Pythagoras (ca 580-500 BC)

A

believed that an abstract world consisting of numbers and numerical relationships exerted an influence on the physical world. He created a dualistic view of humans by saying that in addition to our body, we have a mind (soul), which through reasoning could understand the abstract world of numbers. Furthermore, he believed the human soul to be immortal. Pythagoras’ philosophy had a major influence on Plato and through Christianity, on the entire Western world

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20
Q

Empedocles (ca. 490-430 BC)

A

postulated earth, fire, air and water as the 4 basic elements from which everything is made and two forces, love and strife, that alternately synthesize and separate those elements.
He was also the first philosopher to suggest a theory of perception, and he offered a theory of evolution that emphasized a rudimentary form of natural selection

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21
Q

Eidola: (singular; eidolon):

A

a tiny replication that some early Greek philosophers thought emanated from the surface of things in the environment, allowing things to be perceived

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22
Q

Anaxagoras (ca 500-428 BC)

A

postulated an infinite number of elements (seeds) from which everything is made. He believed that everything contains all the elements and that a thing’s identity is determined by which elements predominate. An exception is the mind, which contains no other element but may combine with other elements, thereby creating life

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23
Q

Democritus (ca. 460-370 BC)

A

offered atoms as the physis. Everything in nature, including humans, was explained in terms of atoms and their activities. His was the first completely materialistic view of the world and of humans
considered the last of the early Greek cosmologists

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24
Q

Elementism

A

The belief that complex processes can be understood by studying the elements of which they consist

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25
Q

Reductionism

A

the attempt to explain objects of events in one domain by using terminology, concepts, laws, or principles from another domains. Explaining observable phenomena (domain 1) in terms of atomic theory (domain 2) would be an example; explaining human behaviour and cognition (domain 1) in terms of biochemical principles (domain 2) would be another. In a sense, it can be said that events in domain 1 are reduced to events in domain 2

Reductionism is contrasted with Elementism

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26
Q

Temple Medicine

A

The type of medicine practiced by priests in early Greek temples that was characterized by superstition and magic. Individuals such as Alcmaeon and Hippocrates severely criticized temple medicine and were instrumental in displacing such practices with naturalistic medicine – that is, medicine that sought natural causes of disorder rather than supernatural causes

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27
Q

Alcmaeon (fl. ca. 500 BC)

A

One of the first Greek physicians to move away from the magic and superstition of temple medicine and toward a naturalistic understanding and treatment of illness
- Perhaps a Pythagorean
Equated health with a balance of such qualities as warm, cold, moist and dry, bitter and sweet
Was among first known to dissect human bodies for inquiry (opposed to funeral)

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28
Q

Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 BC)

A

Considered the father of modern medicine because he assumed that disease had natural causes, not supernatural ones. Health prevails when the four humours of the body are in balance, disease when there is an imbalance. The physicians task was to facilitate the body’s natural tendency to heal itself

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29
Q

Galen (ca A.D. 130-200)

A

associated each of Hippocrates’ four humors with a temperament, thus creating a rudimentary theory of personality

30
Q

Galen’s Humours

A

1) Phlegm/Phlegmatic - sluggish, unemotional
2) Blood/Sanguine - cheerful
3) Yellow Bile/Choleric - quick tempered, fiery
4) Black bile/ Melancholic - Sad

31
Q

Sophists

A

A group of philosopher-teachers who believed that ‘truth’ was what people thought it to be. To convince others that something is true, one needs effective communication skills, and it was those skills that the Sophists taught
o professional teachers of rhetoric and logic who believed that truth was relative and therefore no single ‘truth’ was thought to exist
This belief marked a major shift in philosophy - The question was no longer what is the universe made of but what can humans know and how they can know it

32
Q

Xenophanes (ca. 560-478 BC)

A

Believed people created gods in their own image. He noted that dark-skinned people created dark-skinned gods and vice versa. He speculated that the gods created by nonhuman animals would have the characteristics of those animals. He postulated the existence of one all-powerful

33
Q

Protagoras (ca. 485-410 BC)

A

A Sophist who taught that ‘man is the measure of all things’. In other words, what is considered true varies with a persons personal experiences; therefore, there is no objective truth only individual versions of what is true

34
Q

Gorgias (ca. 485-380 BC)

A

a Sophist who believed the only reality a person can experience is their subjective reality and that this reality can be never accurately communicated to another individual
- A Sophist whose position was even more extreme than Protagora’s

34
Q

Nihilism

A

The belief that because what is considered true varies from person to person, any search for universal (interpersonal) truth will fail. In other words, there is no one truth, only truths.
The Sophists were nihilists.

34
Q

Solipsism

A

the belief that a persons subjective reality is the only reality that exists and can be known

35
Q

Socrates (ca. 470-399 BC)

A

disagreed with the Sophists contention that there is no discernible truth beyond individual opinion. Socrates believed that by examining a number of individual manifestations of a concept, the general concept itself could be defined clearly and precisely. These general definitions are stable and knowable, and when known, generate moral behaviour

36
Q

Inductive definition

A

the technique used by Socrates that examined many individual examples of a concept to discover what they all had in common

37
Q

Essence

A

the indispensable characteristic of a thing that gives it its unique identity
to truly know something is to understand its essence (not only that something is beautiful but why)

38
Q

Plato (ca. 427-347 Bc)

A

first a disciple of Socrates, came under the influence of the Pythagoreans, and postulated the existence of an abstract world of forms or ideas that, when manifested in matter, make up the objects in the empirical world. The only true knowns is that of the forms, a knowledge that can be gained only by reflecting on the innate contents of the soul. Sensory experience interferes with the attainment of knowledge and should be avoided

39
Q

Theory of Forms

A

Plato
Plato’s contention that ultimate reality consists of abstract ideas or forms that correspond to all objects in the empirical world. Knowledge of these abstractions is innate and can be attained only through introspection

40
Q

Forms

A

according to Plato, the pure, abstract realities that are unchanging and timeless, and therefore, knowable. Such forms create imperfect manifestations of themselves when they interact with matter. it is these imperfect manifestations of the forms that are the objects of our sense impressions (see also theory of forms)

41
Q

Analogy of the Divided Line

A

Plato’s illustration of his contention that there is a hierarchy of understanding. The lowest type of understanding is based on images of empirical objects. Next highest is an understanding of empirical objects themselves, which results only in opinion. Next is an understanding of abstract mathematical principles. Then comes an understanding of the forms. The heist understanding (true knowledge( is an understanding of the form of the good that includes a knowledge of all forms and their organization

42
Q

Allegory of the Cave

A

Plato’s description of individuals who live their lives in accordance with the shadows of reality provided by sensory experience instead of in accordance with the true reality beyond sensory experience

43
Q

Reminiscent Theory of Knowledge

A

Plato’s belief that knowledge is attained by remembering the experiences the soul had when it dwelled among the forms before entering the body

44
Q

Introspection

A

the careful examination of one’s subjective experiences

45
Q

Aristotle (384-322 BC)

A

believed sensory experience to be the basis of all knowledge, although the five senses and the common sense provided only the information from which knowledge could be derived. He also believed that everything in nature had within it an entelechy (purpose) that determined its potential. Active reason, which was considered the immortal part of the human soul, provided humans with their greatest potential, and therefore fully actualized humans engage in active reason. Because everything was thought to have a cause, Aristotle postulated an unmoved mover that caused everything in the world but was not itself caused

46
Q

Material Cause

A

according to Aristotle, what a thing is made of
statue is made of marble

47
Q

Formal Cause

A

according to Aristotle, the form of a thing (e.g., a given piece of marble may be in the form of Aphrodite)

48
Q

Efficient Cause

A

according to Aristotle, the force that transforms a thing
(e.g., energy of a sculptor)

49
Q

Final Cause

A

according to Aristotle, the purpose for which a thing exists
The final cause is that for the sake of which something exists (e.g., Aphrodite statue, the purpose may be to arouse pleasure into those who view it.

50
Q

Teleology

A

the belief that nature is purposive. Aristotle’s philosophy was teleological

51
Q

Entelechy

A

According to Aristotle, the purpose for which a thing exists, which remains a potential until actualized. Active reason, for example, is the human entelechy, but it exists only as a potential in many humans

52
Q

Scala Naturea

A

Aristotle’s description of natura as being arranged in a hierarchy from formless matter to the unmoved mover. In this grand design, the only thing higher than humans was the unmoved mover

53
Q

Unmoved Mover

A

according to Aristotle, this is what gives nature its purpose, or final cause, but was itself uncaused. In Aristotle’s philosophy, the unmoved mover was a logical necessity

54
Q

Vegetative (or nutritive soul)

A

possessed by plants, allowing only growth, the assimilation of food and reproduction

55
Q

Sensitive Soul

A

possessed by animals but not plants. In addition to vegetative functions, organisms sense and respond to the environment, experience pleasure and pain, and have a memory

56
Q

Rational Soul

A

possessed only by humans. Provides all the functions of the other two souls but also allows thinking or rational thought

57
Q

Common Sense

A

According to Aristotle, the faculty located in the heart that synthesizes the information provided by the five senses

58
Q

Passive Reason

A

according to Aristotle, the practical utilization of the information provided by the common sense
o Involves the utilization of synthesized experience for getting along effectively in everyday life, but it does not result in an understanding of essences or first principles

59
Q

Active Reason

A

according to Aristotle, the faculty of the soul that searches for the essences or abstract concepts that manifest themselves in the empirical world. Aristotle thought that the active reason part of the soul was immortal
o The abstraction of first principles from ones many experiences can only be accomplished by active reason, which he considers the highest form of thinking

60
Q

Remembering

A

for Aristotle, the passive recollection of past experiences
o For Aristotle, remembering was a spontaneous recollection of something that had been previously experienced

61
Q

Recall

A

for Aristotle, the active mental search for the recollection of past experiences

62
Q

Laws of Association

A

those laws thought responsible for holding mental events together in memory. For Aristotle, the laws of association consisted of the laws of contiguity, contrast, similarity, and frequency

63
Q

Law of Contiguity

A

a thought of something will tend to cause thoughts of things that are usually experienced along with it

64
Q

Law of Similarity

A

The law of similarity states that when we think of something, we tend to think of things similar to it

65
Q

Law of Contrast

A

The law of contrast states that when we think of something, we also tend to think of things that are its opposite

66
Q

Law of Frequency

A

In general, the more often events are experienced together, the stronger they become associated in memory

67
Q

Associationism

A

the philosophical belief that mental phenomena, such as learning, remembering, and imagining can be explained in terms of the laws of association

68
Q

Imagination

A

according to Aristotle, the pondering of the images retained from past experiences

Hx Psyc (5 decks)

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