history (1) Flashcards
What was the key difference between Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on knowledge?
- Plato: believed we possess innate knowledge that comes from a non-material world
- Aristotle: argued that all knowledge is acquired through experience of the material world.
What does the Socratic Method, as demonstrated by Socrates, suggest about knowledge?
It suggests that geometric and mathematical principles are innate and are “unlocked” by experience, not learned.
What is an example of Plato’s doctrine of innate ideas?
Our innate idea of a perfect circle allows us to recognize imperfect examples of circles in the material world.
How did Aristotle’s concept of “tabula rasa” oppose Plato’s doctrine?
Aristotle believed that the mind starts as a blank slate (tabula rasa) and knowledge is acquired through sensory experiences, rather than being innate.
What did Descartes’ concept of dualism propose?
Descartes’ ‘cartesian’ dualism proposed that the world/reality consists of two substances:
- material (res extensa) and
- immaterial (res cogitans, or mind/soul).
The body can be studied scientifically, but the soul cannot.
According to Descartes, how does the mind interact with the body?
the mind interacts with the body through the brain’s pineal gland.
What is Descartes’ “argument of the poverty of stimuli”?
Descartes argued that sensory information is often imperfect or incomplete (e.g., the small, distorted images projected on the retina), so our clear understanding must come from innate ideas.
What was the view of British Empiricists like Locke and Hume regarding knowledge?
they believed :
- there are no innate ideas;
-all knowledge comes from sensory experiences
-and complex ideas are formed through the association of simple ideas.
How did Hume explain the concept of causality?
Hume explained causality as a habit produced by accumulated associations from repeated experiences (e.g., the movement of billiard balls).
What was Kant’s synthesis of Rationalism and Empiricism?
Kant integrated Rationalism and Empiricism by proposing that experience is necessary for knowledge, but some innate categories of knowledge (like space and time) are required for any experience to be possible.
According to Kant, what are some innate categories of knowledge?
Space,
time,
cause, and effect.
What was a limitation of Kant’s solution to the nature/nurture debate?
Kant believed that mental phenomena could not be studied scientifically because we only know the world through our own forms of knowledge, which shape how we see reality.
Who was Paul Broca, and what did he contribute to psychology?
Paul Broca demonstrated that the mind is grounded in the brain by showing that damage to specific brain areas can impair mental functions, such as language.
What example did Plato (via Socrates) use to illustrate the idea of innate knowledge?
Socrates guided a slave boy to “recognize” geometric principles through questioning, suggesting that these principles are innate, not learned.
According to Plato, why do we forget the innate knowledge we are born with?
Plato believed that the trauma of birth into the material world causes the soul to forget the knowledge it had in the ideal world, but the knowledge remains implicit.
How does Aristotle’s view of experience lead to the formation of ideas?
Aristotle believed that we form ideas, such as the concept of a circle, through repeated experiences of imperfect examples in the material world, gradually developing an abstract idea.
What role did Descartes attribute to reason in acquiring knowledge?
Descartes believed that reason, rather than sensory experience, is the path to true knowledge, allowing us to overcome the limitations of the senses.
What is Descartes’ notion of “reflex”?
Descartes introduced the concept of reflex as mechanical reactions of the body that happen without mental control, suggesting that not all actions are conscious.
How did Descartes differentiate humans from animals?
Descartes argued that animals operate like machines (automata), responding to stimuli without conscious experience or feelings, while humans possess a mind that allows for conscious thought.
What did Locke mean by “tabula rasa”?
Locke believed that humans are born with minds as “blank slates” and all knowledge is acquired through experience and reflection.
How did Locke argue against innate ideas?
Locke argued that it is absurd to claim the existence of innate ideas since we have faculties that allow us to obtain knowledge through experience.
What was Hume’s view on cause and effect?
Hume believed that the concept of cause and effect is learned through habit, based on repeated associations, rather than being an innate principle.
How did Kant’s metaphor of the dove illustrate his philosophy?
Kant used the metaphor of a dove’s flight to show that both innate knowledge (the wings) and sensory experience (the air) are necessary for understanding reality
Why did Kant believe mental phenomena couldn’t be studied scientifically?
Kant thought that mental phenomena, like the innate categories of knowledge, shape how we perceive reality, but they themselves *cannot be measured *or directly studied.
What was Dietrich Tiedemann’s contribution to the Nativism/Empiricism debate?
(1797), Tiedemann attempted to empirically study the development of mental faculties in children, marking an early effort to address the nature/nurture debate scientifically.
What major shift in thinking about the mind occurred during the 19th century?
The emerging view was that the mind is a function of the brain and could be studied scientifically, rather than being purely philosophical or non-material.
