The Study of Consciousness Flashcards
When was Franz Brentano alive?
1838-1917
What can Brentano be described as?
An empiricist
Which experimental technique did Brentano advocate for?
Introspection
Which two types of psychology did Brentano distinguish between?
Genetic - 3rd person point of view
Empirical or Descriptive - 1st person point of view
What did Brentano believe psychology is a science of?
Mental phenomena:
- Exclusive object of inner perception
- Always appear as a unity
- Always internally directed towards an object
Brentano argued that ‘what is in the mind’ is less important than what?
What the mind does - experience as activity not structure
Colour is not a mental phenomenon - seeing is mental
What are the three key mental activities of Brentano’s ‘Act Psychology’?
Recall - having an idea of an object
Judging - affirming or denying the object
Feeling - developing an attitude to the object
Why is the mind ordered in its behaviour according to Brentano?
Because the world is ordered, not because of the weight of associations or the imposition of structure by the mind
What is intentionality?
The characteristic of consciousness whereby it is conscious of something
Who were the founders of Gestalt psychology?
Max Wertheimer
Wolfgang Kohler
Kurt Koffka
What is the Bundle Hypothesis and how was it critiqued by Gestalt psychology?
Bundle hypothesis = the objects of consciousness are made up of fixed, atomic element i.e. an object is a collection of its properties
Gestalt = whole different to sum of parts
What is the Constancy Hypothesis and how was it critiqued by Gestalt psychology?
Constancy hypothesis = each conscious sensory object corresponds directly to a physical stimulus’ impact on a sensory organ
Gestalt = percepts are not immutable correlates of local physical stimuli that give rise to them but reflect specific interactive relational aspects of a simulus complex
What is the Phi Phenomenon?
Optical illusion: still image which appears to be in motion
Gestalt argue motion is real in experience but does not correspond to physical moving stimulus
What is the Law of Pragnanz?
The perception of reality is organised or reduced to its simplest form
When was Sigmund Freud alive?
1856-1939
What book is described as the most intriguing book about Freud and Freudian psychoanalysis? And what does it demonstrate?
Freud, biologist of the mind: beyond the psychoanalytic legend - Frank J. Sulloway
How Freudian psychology was influenced by changing world view that followed the Darwinian revolution and the impact of physical theories of dynamics