Chapter 6 Study Questions

Question 1

1. Briefly describe the life and work of Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677)

Answer 1

Baruch Spinoza, born in 1632 to Portuguese Jewish parents in Amsterdam, was initially influenced by Descartes but later developed his own philosophical system. He was excommunicated in 1656 for his radical ideas, particularly his rejection of the conventional views of God. His key work, “Ethics: Demonstrated in Geometrical Order,” was published posthumously in 1677.

Question 2

2. Summarize his philosophy with respect to the nature of God

Answer 2

Spinoza’s pantheistic view equates God with nature, eliminating the distinction between the sacred and the secular. He believed that God is present everywhere and in everything, and denied the existence of an anthropomorphic God, demons, and revelation

Question 3

3. Summarize his philosophy with respect to the relationship between mind and body

Answer 3

Spinoza proposed that the mind and body are two aspects of the same substance, akin to two sides of a coin. According to him, the mind and body are inseparable, and any event affecting the body is experienced as emotions and thoughts, which in turn influence the body. This position is known as psychophysical double aspectism

Question 4

4. Summarize his philosophy with respect to free will

Answer 4

Spinoza denied the existence of free will, asserting that human behavior is determined by nature’s laws. He argued that human actions and thoughts are not genuinely free but are the result of preceding causes. Spinoza’s deterministic view of the universe led him to believe that understanding the necessity of nature brings the highest form of pleasure

Question 5

5. Summarize his philosophy with respect to motivation and emotion

Answer 5

Spinoza regarded pleasure and pain as the fundamental emotions governing human behavior. He emphasized the importance of clear ideas in generating pleasure and the detrimental effects of unclear ideas, which lead to confusion and pain. Spinoza advocated for rational control of passions to achieve a more fulfilling life

Question 6

6. Describe his influence on the development of psychology

Answer 6

Spinoza’s emphasis on the deterministic nature of the mind and his call for the rational control of passions laid the groundwork for the scientific analysis of the human mind. His philosophy resonated with key concepts in psychoanalysis, and his ideas had a substantial impact on the pioneering psychologists Gustav Fechner and Wilhelm Wundt, who contributed significantly to the establishment of psychology as an experimental science

Question 7

7. Briefly describe the life and work of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646–1716)

Answer 7

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646–1716), born in Leipzig, Germany, was a renowned mathematician who independently developed differential and integral calculus around the same time as Newton. He made significant contributions to various fields, including philosophy, mathematics, and physics

Question 8

8. Describe the following aspects of his philosophy disagreement with Locke

Answer 8

Leibniz critiqued Locke’s philosophy, particularly his notion of the mind as a tabula rasa, or a blank slate. Leibniz opposed Locke’s view that all ideas originate from sensory experience, asserting instead that the mind itself contains innate ideas and that experience merely serves to actualize potential ideas

Question 9

9. Describe the following aspects of his philosophy monadology

Answer 9

Leibniz proposed the concept of monads, which are indivisible and self-sufficient units of existence. Monads are active and conscious entities, forming the basic building blocks of the universe. Leibniz postulated that the universe consisted of an infinite number of monads, arranged in a hierarchical order, with varying levels of intelligence

Question 10

10. Describe the following aspects of his philosophy the mind-body relationship

Answer 10

Leibniz rejected both Descartes’s mind-body dualism and Malebranche’s occasionalism. He introduced the idea of psychophysical parallelism, suggesting that the mind and body function in harmony as if pre-established by God. Leibniz believed that external events do not cause mental states but rather correspond with them, creating a mirrored relationship without direct interaction

Question 11

11. Describe the following aspects of his philosophy conscious and unconscious perception

Answer 11

Leibniz proposed the existence of petites perceptions, or unconscious perceptions that accumulate to form conscious awareness. He argued that consciousness exists on a continuum, with thresholds determining the transition from unconscious to conscious perception. Leibniz’s concept of petites perceptions and thresholds laid the groundwork for the study of the unconscious mind and greatly influenced the development of psychoanalysis in the future

Question 12

12. Briefly describe the life and work of Thomas Reid (1710–1796)

Answer 12

Thomas Reid, born in 1710, was a Scottish philosopher. He notably opposed the skepticism of David Hume, arguing that human beings possess innate knowledge and that the senses provide reliable information about the external world

Question 13

13. Describe his views regarding common sense

Answer 13

Reid vehemently disagreed with Hume’s skepticism, emphasizing that the existence of the physical world is evident and universally accepted. He argued that our everyday experiences and the legal system’s reliance on eyewitness testimony are proof of the reliability of our senses and the physical world’s existence. Rejecting Hume’s arguments, Reid asserted that trusting our senses is an innate aspect of common sense

Question 14

14. Describe his views regarding direct realism

Answer 14

Reid believed in direct realism, asserting that human perception accurately reflects reality immediately. He opposed the notion that our experiences are the result of combining isolated sensations, arguing instead that our perception of the world occurs directly and that the mind does not need to actively rationalize our experiences. According to Reid, our perceptions reflect the world directly, not as a result of associative principles

Question 15

15. Describe his views regarding faculty psychology

Answer 15

Reid’s perspective on faculty psychology distinguished him from other theorists. For Reid, mental faculties were active powers of the mind that existed and influenced human behavior and thought. He argued that the mind operates as a unified entity, with different faculties working in cooperation rather than isolation. Reid’s emphasis on the unity of the mind laid the foundation for the “Scottish School” of psychology and greatly influenced early American academic psychology

Question 16

16. Briefly describe the life and work of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)

Answer 16

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was a German philosopher born in Konigsberg, Prussia, known for his groundbreaking works in philosophy and psychology. He challenged David Hume’s skepticism by emphasizing the role of innate structures in human cognition and experience

Question 17

17. Describe the following innate categories of thought

Answer 17

Kant argued that certain a priori categories of thought, including unity, totality, time, space, cause and effect, and others, were inherent in the human mind. These categories shape our perception and understanding of the world

Question 18

18. Describe the following the nature of mental experience

Answer 18

Kant believed that our sensory impressions are organized and modified by the innate categories of thought. The mind actively structures our experiences, and this interaction between sensations and the mind’s categories is inevitable

Question 19

19. Describe the following perceptions of time and space

Answer 19

Kant asserted that both the concepts of time and space were provided by the mind as a priori categories. These innate structures allow us to perceive and comprehend the world in terms of temporal and spatial relationships, respectively

Question 20

20. Describe the following the categorical imperative

Answer 20

Kant proposed the concept of the categorical imperative as a rational moral principle that governs ethical behavior. It emphasizes acting in a way that one would want to become a universal law. Kant believed that moral decisions based on the categorical imperative would lead to a community of free and equal members

Question 21

21. Specify Kant’s influence on the development of psychology

Answer 21

Kant’s influence on the development of psychology is notable. He emphasized the importance of both sensory experience and innate faculties, which resonated with the Gestalt psychologists and modern psychologists like J. J. Gibson. Kant’s ideas helped shape discussions on the role of innate factors in perception, language, cognitive development, and problem-solving. While he was skeptical about psychology becoming an experimental science, Kant’s distinction between introspection and the study of observable behavior laid the foundation for the discipline of psychology

Question 22

22. Briefly describe the life and work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831). Describe his views with respect to The Absolute and the dialectic process

Answer 22

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) was a German philosopher who viewed the universe as an interconnected unity, known as the Absolute. Hegel emphasized the importance of understanding the whole rather than isolated parts, with true knowledge arising from grasping the interrelatedness of all concepts. He posited the dialectic process, involving a thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, as the means through which human history and the intellect evolve towards the Absolute

Question 23

23. Summarize Hegel’s influence on the development of psychology

Answer 23

Hegel’s influence on psychology was significant. He stimulated the study of art, religion, history, and science, and his ideas had a profound impact on various fields. Hegel’s influence can be seen in the development of psychophysics and experimental psychology through the work of Fechner. Additionally, the phenomenological tradition in early German psychology and the later emergence of Gestalt psychology were indebted to Hegel. Concepts such as alienation found in the works of later psychologists like Erich Fromm and Carl Rogers can also be traced back to Hegel’s philosophy

Question 24

24. Briefly describe the life and work of Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776–1841)

Answer 24

Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776–1841) was a German philosopher and psychologist known for his contributions to the field of psychology. He authored significant works such as “Textbook in Psychology” (1816) and “Psychology as a Science Based on Experience, Metaphysics, and Mathematics” (1824–1825)

Question 25

25. Describe his positions with respect to psychology’s status as a science

Answer 25

Herbart partly agreed with Kant that psychology could not be an experimental science, yet he believed that mental activities could be expressed mathematically, giving psychology a scientific character in that regard

Question 26

26. Describe his positions with respect to psychic mechanics

Answer 26

Herbart’s view of psychic mechanics was influenced by empiricists and Leibniz. He regarded ideas as containing inherent force or energy, leading to their attraction or repulsion of other ideas based on their compatibility. This concept of psychic mechanics emphasized the active nature of ideas, contrasting with the passive view of the empiricists

Question 27

27. Describe his positions with respect to the apperceptive mass

Answer 27

Herbart introduced the notion of the apperceptive mass, which refers to a collection of compatible ideas in consciousness. He equated this concept with attention, suggesting that ideas within the apperceptive mass compete with each other for conscious expression. Repressed ideas wait for an opportunity to enter the apperceptive mass, leading to shifts in consciousness

Question 28

28. Describe his positions with respect to educational psychology

Answer 28

Herbart made significant contributions to educational psychology by emphasizing the importance of preparing students’ mental sets or apperceptive masses for new material. He advocated relating new information to existing knowledge and stressed the significance of compatibility between the student’s cognitive structure and the material being taught

Question 29

29. Summarize Herbart’s influence on the development of psychology

Answer 29

Herbart’s influence on the development of psychology was profound. Despite his skepticism about psychology’s experimental nature, his emphasis on quantifying mental phenomena encouraged the emergence of experimental psychology. His concepts of the unconscious, repression, and conflict influenced early studies of social cognition and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Furthermore, Herbart’s ideas on the active nature of the mind and its involvement in cognitive processes laid the groundwork for subsequent psychological theories and research