Intro Flashcards
Psychology (4)
A study of one of the existential wonders: the psyche and the mind of the person capable of:
- initiating, controlling, and freely, consciously choosing the meaningful actions
- insightful introspection in the mental reality (thoughts, feelings, desires, selfhood)
- insightful orientation in the mental qualities of other people (empathy,
compassion)
- contemplating the transcendent dimensions of human existence.
!!BEYOND BEHAVIOR!!
Idiographic approach/view of the human person
Description and analysis of a unique, specific individual,
-> e.g. Lady Macbeth, Don Quixote or Ms. Anna O. (Freud’s anamnesis)
-> clinical psychologists
=> psychology as a CLINICAL PRACTICE
Nomothetic approach/view of the human person
Description and analysis of human beings in general,
-> e.g. Freudian description of people suffering from conversion hysteria.
-> typical for theorists, scientific generalizations about humans…
=> psychology as a DISCIPLINE OF SCIENCE
The interpretations of history are prone to biases of: (5)
(1) Assumed paradigm (a set of axioms accepted in a preferred theory)
(2) Ideological indoctrination, political correctness, conformism, auto-censorship
(3) Assumed dogma (a set of beliefs based on authority)
(4) False myths and irrational prejudices
(5) Presentism
Dogmatic interpretation
Based on authority, myth, social pressure, prejudices, beliefs, ideology, auto-censorship
-> Inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true.
(VS PARADIGMATIC: based on knowledge, axioms, preferences, preconceptions, expectations, theoretical preferences)
Presentism def
Bias, a tendency to interpret and judge past events or concepts from the point of view popular and accepted presently (here and now).
Historicism def
Way of viewing and interpreting past events and
concepts in their historical context (Zeitgeist & Ortgeist: then and there).
UNBIASED APPROACH
Who or what makes historical facts, events or concepts happen? (4 approaches)
(1) Zeitgeist/Ortgeist (Hegel!)
(2) Special person
(3) Cycles
(4) Random
Zeitgeist def
Spirit (mentality) of the TIMES: climate of opinion, mentality of the epoch
Ortgeist def
Spirit (mentality) of the PLACE, region, country, community
Special person approach
An extraordinary individual who makes history unique.
Cyclical Repetitions approach
Assumes that everything in history repeats itself: the political, economic, social, and artistic trends as well as the philosophical and scientific concepts reappear in a new form or under a new label.
-> War vs Peace, Poverty vs Richness…
Randomness approach
Political, social, artistic, and scientific events happen by chance: cannot be predicted. Nothing and nobody makes history, “history makes itself”.
Why do we need the knowledge of history? (6)
(1) To learn from the past and avoid repeating the same errors
(2) To respect our roots and protect the sense of belonging (identity)
(3) To understand the transient preliminary value of a theory or concept
(4) To avoid arrogance based on presentism
(5) To preserve a respectful attitude towards the ancestral views and traditions
(6) Clinical professionals collect the patient’s past to write and analyze the anamnesis
Who wrote the term “psychology” for the first time?
Christian monk from Split, Croatia, Marko Marulič (16th century)
Explain the chronology of the word “psychology” (8)
(1) Christian monk from Split, Croatia, Marko Marulič (16th century).
(2) German humanist Johannes Thomas Freigius (16th c.)
(3) German humanist Rudolph Goclenius or Goeckel (16th c.)
(4) - The term “psychology” was replaced by “pneumology” in the 17th c.
(5) “Psychology” was re-introduced by Christian Wolff in 18th c.
(6) 1879!!!!! Wilhelm Wundt: psychology as an independent discipline of science
(7) John Watson tries to replace “psychology” with “behaviourism”
(8) Albert Bandura restores psychology as a science of mental processes
The historical roots of psychological concepts (6)
(1) Ancestral thoughts on mechanisms of action (anthropomorphism, animism, magic)
(2) Mythology
(3) Religion
(4) Philosophy
(5) Anthropology, archaeology
(6) Medical discoveries and neuroscience
Basic axioms of science (3)
(1) There is a real universe (ontology)
(2) The elements of the universe are lawfully and coherently interdependent (determinism)
(3) The universe is knowable and we can learn it (epistemology)
Science is an endless process of… (4)
(1) Collecting the data
(2) Investigating the relationships
(3) Formulating the conclusions: hypotheses & models
(4) Verifying and modifying them
Classic scientific axioms assume harmony, consistency & predictability as one of science’s objectives. Yet, such thinkers reject that explanation. WHO?
Isaac Newton, August Compte
Newton’s pov on science’s objective
Newton said it was not necessary to explain. Sufficient when scientists provide measurable coincidences of two measurable facts.
-> Scientific laws as mathematical summaries of observations
August Compte’s pov on objectives of science
Methodological positivism: focus on measurable facts and avoid the temptation to formulate a causal explanation.
Axiom def
Something that doesn’t require proof
To what mathematical function can we compare scientific discoveries to?
Asymptotic curve: never-ending process of improving our understanding of the universe.
Objectives of scientific inquiry (4)
Describe, Predict, Control, and (perhaps?) Explain.
The observational or correlational statements are not about the cause, but only _______.
coincidences
A single “cause” or many causes? - What would Aristotle say?
Multifactorial approach. 4 types of causes: material & formal (antecedent conditions), efficient (immediate), and final (teleological)
Aristotle: Material cause
A type of material -> Domino is produced in such a way that all elements are from the same material → domino effect doesn’t work if diff materials.
Aristotle - Formal cause
The shape of its pieces
Aristotle - Efficient cause
An impact of a piece onto another - Somebody has to start pushing the first piece of domino.
(why?)
Aristotle - Final case
A purpose, an intention
A single “cause” or many causes? Multifactorial approach in psychology
R as a single reaction depending on
many cofactors: S (stimulus), A (antecedent experience), V (visceroception), P (personality)
&
B as a behavioural style depending on personality traits
What questions does psychology share with philosophy? (3)
(1) Ontological questions: What does exist? Is the soul, psyche, and mind real?
(2) Epistemological questions: How do we know, and learn an object of cognition?
(3) Ethical questions: How should we behave to be happy, respected and loved?
Epistemology etymology
From the Greek episteme (”to know, to comprehend”)
Epistemology def
Sources of knowledge. How do we know what’s real? What are the tools and methods of examining reality & knowing it?