Philosophy-1

Question 1

Affectivity and behavior

Answer 1

The 2 components of tendency that raise questions

Question 2

Tendency

Answer 2

The general inclination and movement towards something + force that can be found at the basis of our affective and sensitive life (in the form of spontaneous activity or states of instability)

Question 3

Psychoanalysis

Answer 3

Interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind

Question 4

Aristotle

Answer 4

Considered happiness the highest good at the end toward which all human activity is directed, and believed that correct decision and action depend on true practical thought and on right desire- as a conscious tendency.

Question 5

John Watson

Answer 5

American psychologist who established the Behaviorist school of psychology and was the principal formulator of Behaviorism.

Question 6

The Empirical Perspective

Answer 6

Sensation–>Pleasure–>Desire–>Repetition–>Tendency
(Ex: the pleasurable sensation would drive you to smell roses again)

Question 7

John Locke
David Hume
Étienne Bonnot de Condillac

Answer 7

Believed that human knowledge is derived from sensations. Man was born with a blank mind (Tabula Rasa).

Question 8

Introspection

Answer 8

Aspect that can be observed from the outside.

Question 9

organic needs VS desires

Answer 9

Organic needs: innate, original, essential for sustainability.
(Ex: consumption of food and water)

Desires: conscious tendencies that are aware of and seek out their specific object of satisfaction.
(Ex: desire to repeat a pleasurable drink will not be satiated by water alone).

Question 10

Traditional Psychology

Answer 10

Rejected mental explanations, instead focused on behavioral studies through introspection.

Question 11

Criticism on Tendency theory

Answer 11

It is original and precedes pleasure, rather than being a result of pleasure.

Question 12

Empiricists

Answer 12

Consider that a sensory experience creates desire- product of affectivity- and considered tendency as not an original force to sense the surroundings; it is a desire acquired after an experience.

Question 13

Sigmund Freud

Answer 13

Discovered the unconscious basis of human behavior.

Question 14

Pleasure

Answer 14

Only fixes tendency in a specific desire and does not create it; if there is no tendency, there is no feeling of pleasure.

Question 15

Albert Burloud

Answer 15

Claims that tendencies are characterized by impulsion and direction.
(Ex: hunger is an impulsion that moves us in the direction of food).

Question 16

Movement

Answer 16

Not random since it is directed to satisfy a goal or away from something perceived as dangerous.

Question 17

Behaviorists

Answer 17

Claim that tendency is a product of movement (and the consciousness cannot be studied accurately). Conduct (external) studies based on conditioning and “stimulus-response” connections.

Question 18

Thought

Answer 18

Practical, depends on desire, which initiates motion.
(Ex: there are many things we desire to see or acquire because we have been induced to believe them good).

Question 19

Want-to-live better and longer

Answer 19

The final goal toward which tendencies are directed as dynamic and real forces (innate or acquired) (directly or indirectly determining an act).

Question 20

Jean-Jaques Rousseau

Answer 20

Proposed that our basic need is self preservation and survival.

Question 21

Théodule Ribot

Answer 21

(inspired by the behavioral movement)
●Asserted that “tendency is not a mystery; it is a movement or stopping of a movement at its birth instant”. (i.e tendency is the result of a reaction).

●Believed that the fundamentals of emotional life rest in tendencies, bound in a physiological phenomenon and reveal themselves through facial expressions and body movements.
(Repeated movements form habits that create new needs and tendencies).

Question 22

Criticism on The Behaviorists’ Thesis

Answer 22

Ribot’s theory is highly questionable Although tendency expressed through kinetic energy is undeniable, it cannot be reduced to just the product of a movement; on the contrary, movement can be interpreted through the hidden tendency behind it.
We have to distinguish between reflexes and movements seeking to satisfy a need.

Question 23

Maurice Pradines

Answer 23

Distinguished between 2 kinds of tendencies:

●Tendency towards: real tendency that drives someone towards a needed object (ex: food and water).

●Aversive tendency: not a true tendency, because it is a defensive reflex (not something we tend toward) and avoids getting close to what is perceived as harm.

Question 24

Habits VS Tendency

Answer 24

A repeated movement/habit is not enough to form a tendency.

A habit does not create new needs, only fixes them on a definite object.

(Ex: a student going to school everyday doesn’t create a tendency or need to go to school).

Question 25

Conclusion

Answer 25

Tendency cannot be reduced to a mere desire.
It is important to understand the motives behind dynamic human actions (this goal is not separated from the want-to-live a longer and better life)…

Question 26

Problematic of Tendency theory

Answer 26

What is the nature of tendencies?
Are they the result of sensory experiences? Or the product of movement?