Unit 1 Studying Flashcards
Science
The belief that forms of things such as genes, environmental stimuli, and cultural customs are all accessible and quantifiable
Rationalism
Contrast to Irrationalism, the philosophical belief that knowledge can be attained only by engaging in some type of systematic mental activity
Empiricism
Contrast to rationalism, the source of knowledge is always based on sensory observation
Empirical observation
The direct observation of nature, first step of the scientific theory
Naive realism
What we experience mentally is the same as what is present physically
Irrationalism
Contrast to rationalism, the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Jung claim that the true causes of behavior are unconscious and as such cannot be experienced rationally
Mechanism
Behaviours of organisms can be explained the same as a machine as they both are subject to the same parts and laws governing those parts
Vitalism
The belief that life cannot be explained in terms of inanimate processes. Life requires a force that is more than the material objects or inanimate processes in which it manifests itself. For there to be life, there must be a vital force present
Determinism
Assumes that everything that occurs is a function of a finite number of causes and that, if these causes were known, an event could be predicted with complete accuracy
Hard Determinism
All actions are caused and predetermined, nobody is truly free
Soft determinism
Although our actions are determined, we still act voluntarily
Preestablished harmony
A belief by some dualist that two types of events are different and separate but are coordinated by some external agent—for example, God
Double aspectism
A person cannot be divided into a mind and a body but is a unity that simultaneously experiences events physiologically and mentally
Epiphenomenalism
The brain causes mental events, but mental events cannot cause behavior. In this view, mental events are simply by-products of brain processes with no ability to exert any influence
Psychophysical parallelism
Environmental experience causes both mental events and bodily responses simultaneously but the two are totally independent of each other
Dualist
The belief that there are physical events and mental events
Idealist
Contrast to monists, the belief that even our so-called physical reality results from perceived ideas
Monist
Another term for materialists, the belief that explains everything in terms of one type of reality—matter
Presentism
Contrast to historicism, a term coined by Stocking, understanding the past in terms of contemporary knowledge and standards
Historicism
Contrast to Stockings presentism, the study of the past for its own sake without attempting to relate the past and present
Eclectic approach
Using whatever method seems best able to illuminate an aspect of the history of psychology
Zeitgeist
The spirit of the times
Material cause
According to Aristotle, what a thing is made of
Formal cause
According to Aristotle, the form of a thing
Final cause
According to Aristotle, the purpose for which a thing exists
Efficient cause
According to Aristotle, the force that transforms a thing
Unmoved mover
A logical necessity in Aristotle philosophy, this is what gives nature its purpose, or final cause, but was itself uncaused.
Realism
The belief that abstract universals (essences) exist and that empirical events are only manifestations of those universals
Scholasticism
The synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian teachings
Nominalism
The belief that so-called universals are nothing more than verbal labels or mental habits that are used to denote classes of experience
Conceptualism
Abelard’s proposed solution to the realism-nominalism debate. Abelard argued that concepts do not have independent existence (realism), but that, being abstractions, they are more than mere names (nominalism)
Idols of the cave
Bacon’s term for personal biases that result from one’s personal characteristics or experiences
Idols of the marketplace
Bacon’s term for error that results when one accepts the traditional meanings of the words used to describe things
Idols of the theatre
Bacon’s term for the inhibition of objective inquiry that results when one accepts dogma, tradition, or authority
Idols of the tribe
Bacon’s term for biases that result from human’s natural tendency to view the world selectively
Positivism
The belief that only those objects or events that can be experienced directly should be the object of scientific inquiry. Actively avoids metaphysical speculation
Secondary qualities
Those apparent attributes of physical objects that in fact exist only in the mind of the perceiver—for example, the experiences of color, sound, odor, temperature, and taste. Without a perceiver, these phenomena would not exist
Primary qualities
Attributes of physical objects: for example, size, shape, number, position, and movement or rest
Protestantism
The religious movement that denied the authority of the pope and of Aristotle. It argued against church hierarchy and ritual and instead wanted a simple, deeply personal, and introspective religion like that described by St. Paul and St. Augustine
Phenomenologist
Emphasizes the importance of examining phenomena without presuppositions or preconceived theories aiming for more direct understanding of human consciousness
Interactionism
The version of dualism that accepts the separate existence of a mind and a body and claims that they interact
Humanism
A viewpoint that existed during the Renaissance. It emphasized four themes: individualism, a personal relationship with God, interest in classical wisdom, and a negative attitude toward Aristotle’s philosophy
