Unit 2 Philosophy - Epistemology Flashcards
Skepticism
What is it?
- Philosophical skepticism is a systematic approach that questions the notion that absolutely certain knowledge is possible.
- It isn’t the same as commonplace skepticism - Ie. a student says they don’t have their assignment done because “their printer is broken.”
- For the skeptics, the logical argument was impossible, as it relied on propositions which could not be said to be either true or false without relying on further propositions. This was the regress argument, whereby every proposition must rely on other propositions in order to maintain its validity.
Skepticism
Who is it?
- Pyrrho of Elis is credited with the foundation of this school of thought - He travelled to India as a young man and was taught by the gymnosophists - the naked lovers of wisdom. Then, he went back to Greece and taught that objective knowledge is impossible to have.
All judgements must be suspended. - In Islamic philosophy, skepticism was established by Al-Ghazali (1058-1111), known in the West as “Algazel”, as part of the orthodox Ash’ari school of Islamic theology
- René Descartes is credited for developing global skepticism as a thought experiment in his attempt to find absolute certainty on which to base the foundation of his philosophy. However, Descartes was not totally a skeptic and developed his theory of an absolute certainty to disprove other skeptics who argued that there is no certainty.
Ten Modes of Doubt
- The skeptics argued that there were TEN MODES OF DOUBT - ten reasons that you cannot be certain.
- They argued against all others who claimed to know things about the world with certainty
Ten Modes of Doubt - 1
- Animals are all different and perceive the world differently.
- Cats can see at night, hawks can see for miles. Dogs can smell things that to us, don’t exist. Which is truth?
Ten Modes of Doubt - 2
- Some people like some things, some like others.
- To some, coffee is delicious, but to others it is gross. Some people like the heat, others prefer cold.
- Some people drink whisky and enjoy it, while others hate it.
Ten Modes of Doubt - 3
Things appear different to our different senses. An apple may appear yellow, and taste sweet. All of our senses tell us different information, but none are duplicated. A meal make look awful, but taste delicious. You have a SINGLE sense for each form of perception. How do you know it’s correct without confirmation?
Ten Modes of Doubt - 4
Circumstantial conditions can change everything. For example, you may perceive thing differently when tired, or angry. Friends may be funny to you while you are feeling good, but annoying when you are upset.
Ten Modes of Doubt - 5
- Different groups have different practices. What is beautiful to one group, will be strange or ugly to the next.
- Some people will believe one thing is funny, but others won’t.
Ten Modes of Doubt - 6
- You never experience anything on its own, only in combination with something else.
- Example - right now, you are seeing because of the quality of lights in the ceiling. Change the lights and appearances change - which one is ‘correct’?
- Is it a brown or a red fish?
Ten Modes of Doubt - 7
- Quantities changes the nature of things. A little chocolate each day is good for you. 12 chocolate bars a day is bad for you.
- A glass of red wine a day is healthy. 7 glasses on a Monday morning is not. Are wine & chocolate healthy? It depends.
Ten Modes of Doubt - 8
- Positions and distances change the nature of things. Mountains in the distance appear smooth. The moon often appears larger than the sun. The sun appears larger as it approaches the horizon.
Ten Modes of Doubt - 9
- Some things change based on their rarity. A hurricane would be very surprising here and noted for how rare hurricanes are. In the Caribbean it would be normal.
- If you are an A+ student, you failing a test may indicate that the test was very hard. But something with a 20% failing would not indicate the same thing.
Ten Modes of Doubt - 10
- Inter-relations make things impossible to judge.
- ‘Is that heavy?’ is an impossible question to answer. Is it heavy for me? For you? For a small child?
- ‘Is the test hard?’ is also an impossible question. It depends too much on who is asking and who is answering.
Skepticism - To review:
- The skeptics were an Ancient Greek philosophical school that emphasized our inability to know anything with certainty.
- They did not say that true knowledge was IMPOSSIBLE to know, just that we cannot know it right now, using our senses or our limited understanding of the world.
- Although skepticism isn’t a popular philosophy anymore, it is an important one as people need to always question the ideas that they have and how they are acquiring them.
- The more important thing about Skepticism is the understanding that people must always question what they know, even their most cherished beliefs and ideas.
The Point of Skepticism
- The point was to encourage an active process of questioning and to not allow people to become complacent in the things that they choose to believe.
- Skeptics felt that the real enemy of knowledge and intelligence was the intellectual complacency that leads people to simply accept all the pieces of knowledge that they are given.
- QUESTION EVERYTHING - would be their motto.
Knowledge
- Most people believe that they know what knowledge is already.
- Only when you try to define it, does it become more difficult.
- So, what is true knowledge?
- The opposite of a lie? But this is circular reasoning…..because now you must define a lie by saying that it is the opposite of truth
- Throughout the ages, philosophy, art, religion, science and politics have all claimed to have ‘the truth’
Plato - What is Knowledge?
- Had an unshakable belief in the existence of unequivocal, objective and absolute truths.
- Often argued with the Sophists over their relativism.
- Knowledge is out there, and you can find it.
DT Suzuki
- Zen Buddhist philosopher
- Knowledge is derived from two sources: prajna (intuition) and vijana (reason)
- Western philosophy focuses too much on reason, and denies intuition as a valid source of knowledge in some circumstances
Fernandez-Armesto
- The truth you feel – non-rational and sensory.
- The truth you are told – by authorities, religious, secular or political.
- The truth of reason – discovered through active thought
- The truth you perceive through your senses
JTB – Justified True Belief
- Most philosophers since Plato have accepted that “knowledge” can be accurately be called ‘justified true belief’
- The concept of justified true belief states that in order to know that a given proposition is true, one must not only believe the relevant true proposition but also have justification for doing so.
- Justified - you have enough evidence to classify the information as correct
- True - the information is actually true, based on physical evidence
- Belief - you believe that the information is correct and counts as knowledge
Rationalism
Where does knowledge come from?
Rationalism would say that Knowledge and Reason are the most important sources of knowledge, and your experiences and observations are probably messed up. Reason and logic alone can lead you to knowledge.
Prominent Rationalists
Plato - The Cave and the World of Forms - access is innate, using your rational mind
Descartes - Cogito Ergo Sum, deductive reasoning, Evil Genius
Noam Chomsky - language is innate - innate knowledge = rationalism
Rationalism and the Sciences
- Rationalism started with Plato (World of Forms) but really took off during the Enlightenment and the Age of Scientific Reasoning.
- Rationalism attempts to explain how knowledge obtained through a human cognitive activity could be an objective, universal and necessary truth.
- Rationalism maintains that knowledge can be attained through reason, which serves as the source of knowledge, a precondition for truth, and a grounding for mathematical and scientific knowledge.
How Rationalists Form Knowledge
First, Rationalists believe that evidence gained through the senses, i.e. seeing, touching, tasting, hearing and smelling, is fallible, confusing and misleading. (Think of the Skeptics)
You sense things different than other people. You even perceive things differently on different days.
Second, they construct accounts of how reason in some form or other provides additional information about the world. How does our rational mind provide us with the information that we need in the world?
The Intuition/Deduction Thesis
The intuition/deduction thesis claims that some propositions in a particular subject area are knowable to us by intuition only, while others are knowable by being deducted from intuited propositions.
Intuition is regarded as a form of rational insight. Intellectually grasping a proposition, we just “know” it to be true in such a way as to form a true, defensible belief in it.
Deduction is a process in which we derive conclusions from an intuited premise through valid arguments, where the conclusion must be true if the premise is true.
Intuition and deduction thus provide us with knowledge a priori (not using sense experience).
EXAMPLE - I think (intuition), therefore I am (deduction).
The Innate Knowledge Thesis
Innate knowledge means having knowledge of some truth in a particular subject area. Like the intuition/deduction thesis, the innate knowledge thesis also asserts the existence of knowledge gained a priori (without using the senses).
This is Noam Chomsky’s language argument. He says that language is inherent to our species - within our neurological development.
The Innate Concept Theory
According to the innate concept thesis some of the concepts are not gained from experience – they are part of our rational nature. While sense experiences may trigger a process by which they are brought to consciousness, experience does not provide the concepts or determine the information they contain. The content and strength of the innate concept thesis varies with the concepts claimed to be innate. The more a concept seems to be removed from the experience and the mental options we can perform on experience, the more plausibly it may be claimed to be innate.
Plato, seeing how good Socrates was at questioning people and bringing them to concepts, was a big believer in the Innate Concept Theory. Socrates was bringing people BACK to concepts they already knew but had lost due to a variety of reasons (self-interest, societal norms etc.)
The Indispensability of Reason Thesis
The indispensability of reason thesis claims that the knowledge that we gain by intuition and deduction, and the knowledge that is innate to us, could not have been gained through sense experience.
We need to think deeply in a way that is divorced from sense experience to gain knowledge. Deep thinking is a way in which we can use the mind to create knowledge. It requires thinking beyond sense experience.
Think of JUSTICE. Imagine someone living in horrible circumstances, having NEVER seen a singular example of a just act in their lives. They would need to think deeply on the concept of justice to gain that knowledge.
The Superiority of Reason Thesis
The superiority of reason thesis claims that the knowledge we gain by intuition and deduction, or have innately, is superior to any knowledge gained by sense experience.
Our senses, even when working well, do not and cannot give us 100% reliable information. Reason, when done properly, could.
Prominent Empiricists
Aristotle - Inductive Reasoning = knowledge
Avicenna - familiarity then to concepts
Abubacer - feral child example
John Locke - Tabula Rasa = Equality
Empiricism - What is it?
Empiricism is the theory that the origin of all knowledge is sense experience.
It emphasizes the role of experience and evidence, especially sensory perception, in the formation of ideas, and argues that the only knowledge humans can have is a posteriori (i.e. based on experience).
Most empiricists also discount the notion of innate ideas or innatism (the idea that the mind is born with ideas or knowledge and is not a “blank slate” at birth).
The doctrine of Empiricism was BEST explicitly formulated by the British philosopher John Locke in the late 17th Century.
Locke argued in his “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” of 1690 that the mind is a tabula rasa on which experiences leave their marks, and therefore denied that humans have innate ideas or that anything is knowable without reference to experience.
Empiricism = ? Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning:
I have a piece of food.
It fits in one hand.
It is red.
It is juicy.
It has a short stem, and seeds in the middle.
What is the piece of food in my hand?
Rationalism = ? Reasoning
Deductive reasoning
Rationalists use deductive reasoning by starting with general principles and logically deriving specific conclusions from them. For example, if a rationalist believes that “all humans are mortal” (premise), and “Socrates is a human” (premise), then they can deduce the conclusion that “Socrates is mortal.” They rely on formal logic to ensure the validity and soundness of their deductions, helping them test hypotheses and build coherent systems of thought.
Inductive Reasoning and Empiricism
In order to build a more complex body of knowledge from these direct observations, inductive reasoning (making generalizations based on individual instances) must be used. This kind of knowledge is therefore also known as indirect empirical knowledge.
Inductive Reasoning:
I have a piece of food.
It fits in one hand.
It is red.
It is juicy.
It has a short stem, and seeds in the middle.
What is the piece of food in my hand?
George Berkeley’s Empiricism
- His Irish buddy, George Berkeley, who was also a Bishop, argued that this could eventually risk ATHEISM if we only believed in the things that we could perceive with the senses.
- But he then develops an EXTREME version of empiricism, known as subjective idealism or solipsism. Our knowledge does not provide enough evidence to ‘prove’ the existence of anything.
- Luckily, God is perceiving us all the time. So we exist.
ESSE EST PERCEPI
- To be is to be perceived.
- Berkeley is saying that things only exist IF we perceive them. If we do not perceive them, then they do not exist.
- When you were a kid, and you plugged your ears, closed your eyes and said, “lalalala, I can’t hear you!” - you made that person CEASE TO EXIST.
Empiricism Review
- We use our senses all the time, every single day. We gain knowledge about the world around us, and we draw conclusions using inductive reasoning.
- It may be flawed at times (hasty generalization, lazy induction), but we can work hard to minimize those mistakes.
- Sometimes your senses are wrong. We have to watch for that, and not draw conclusions too quickly.
- Other times, people don’t use logic very well. We have to focus on using our logic as effectively as possible.
Confucius
Basic Bio Details
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies
Basic Bio Details: Confucius (551-479 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher and teacher during the Spring and Autumn periods of Chinese history.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Confucius emphasized the importance of moral education and self-cultivation. He believed that knowledge comes from studying the classics, engaging in moral self-reflection, and cultivating virtues such as benevolence (ren) and propriety (li).
Al Ghazali
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111 CE) was a Persian Islamic philosopher, theologian, and mystic.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Al-Ghazali emphasized the limitations of human reason in understanding ultimate truths. He advocated for a balance between reason and revelation, arguing that true knowledge comes from both intellectual inquiry and spiritual insight.
Rene Descartes
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: René Descartes (1596-1650 CE) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, often dubbed the “Father of Modern Philosophy.”
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Descartes is known for his method of doubt, which aimed to establish a foundation of certain knowledge. He emphasized the importance of self-reflection and argued that the only indubitable knowledge is that of one’s own existence (“cogito, ergo sum”).
John Locke
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: John Locke (1632-1704 CE) was an English philosopher and physician, known as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Locke is famous for his empiricist approach to epistemology. He argued that knowledge comes from sensory experience, rejecting innate ideas and proposing that the mind at birth is a “tabula rasa” (blank slate) upon which experience writes.
David Hume
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: David Hume (1711-1776 CE) was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, and economist.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Hume expanded on empiricism, emphasizing the limitations of human understanding. He argued that knowledge is ultimately based on sense perceptions and impressions, questioning the possibility of proving causality through reason alone.
Immanuel Kant
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Immanuel Kant (1724-1804 CE) was a German philosopher whose work marked a turning point in Western philosophy.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Kant sought to reconcile rationalism and empiricism by proposing a transcendental idealism. He argued that while sensory experience provides the raw material for knowledge, it is the mind’s innate structures (categories of understanding) that shape and organize this experience.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900 CE) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, and poet.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Nietzsche’s epistemological ideas are deeply critical of traditional philosophy. He questioned the possibility of objective truth, arguing that all knowledge is subjective and influenced by individual perspectives, power dynamics, and historical context.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951 CE) was an Austrian-British philosopher, known for his contributions to the philosophy of language and logic.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Wittgenstein’s early work focused on language and meaning, proposing that the meaning of a word is its use in the language. Later, he emphasized the importance of language games and how they shape our understanding of the world.
Karl Popper
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Karl Popper (1902-1994 CE) was an Austrian-British philosopher of science, known for his contributions to the philosophy of science and political philosophy.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Popper is known for his theory of falsifiability, which asserts that scientific theories should be open to falsification through empirical testing. He emphasized the importance of conjecture and refutation in the growth of scientific knowledge.
Edmund Gettier
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Edmund Gettier is an American philosopher, best known for his 1963 paper challenging the traditional definition of knowledge.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Gettier is famous for his counterexamples to the “justified true belief” account of knowledge. His examples raised questions about the necessary conditions for knowledge, leading to significant developments in epistemology.
Nancy Hartsock
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Nancy Hartsock is an American feminist philosopher, known for her contributions to feminist theory and political philosophy.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Hartsock’s work intersects with feminist epistemology, which challenges traditional notions of objectivity and rationality. She emphasizes the importance of standpoint theory, arguing that knowledge is shaped by one’s social position and lived experiences.
Noam Chomsky
Basic Bio Details:
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies:
Basic Bio Details: Noam Chomsky (1928-present) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and political activist.
Concepts/Ideas/Ideologies: Noam Chomsky (1928-present) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and political activist. Chomsky’s work in linguistics has significant implications for epistemology, particularly in his theory of universal grammar. He argues that the human capacity for language is innate and that certain linguistic structures are hardwired into the human brain, shaping the way we perceive and understand the world.
Post-Kant
After Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, the focus on epistemology became on how your mind is organized (categories), and how that will affect your perception of the world.
Sigmund Freud
- An Austrian neurologist, who became the founder of psychoanalysis.
- Died in 1939 – after spending most of his life as a professor and practicing medical doctor in Vienna.
- Highly controversial figure…with a sweet beard.
Pleasure Principle
- People are naturally governed by a need to maximize pleasure and minimize pain = this is the driving force of all people.
- Inner emotional conflicts cause anxiety - not to be confused with existential anxiety.
- We don’t like anxiety and do whatever we can to minimize it.
The Unconscious Mind - Why is the Unconscious Mind important?
- we are not entirely aware of what we think and often act for reasons that have little to do with our conscious thoughts
- we try to keep some of these things hidden because they cause us anxiety
Three-Part Psyche
- ID
- EGO
- SUPEREGO
ID -
your instincts and drives – totally pleasure-driven and amoral
your ID is aggressive, sexual and illogical - not acceptable in society.
your ID is a selfish child, wanting everything it sees
EGO -
your mediator between the ID and the SUPEREGO – tries to get you some things that you want, but in socially acceptable ways.
your EGO tries to keep you sane as you develop by using defence mechanisms
SUPEREGO -
the rules that are imposed by the world, your culture and your society.
your SUPEREGO is a goody-goody stiff always telling you that you’re bad
The Oedipal Complex
Named after the famous Greek mythological story of Oedipus Rex
Freud developed the Oedipus complex as an explanation of the formation of the SUPEREGO
Little boys first become attached to mom, who does most of the loving and caregiving
Later, the little boys libido kicks in a little, and he loves and wishes to marry mom (and do other things that married people do….)
But little boy knows that dad will be angry at this urge which makes little boy fear that dad may castrate him.
Boy develops the SUPEREGO by internalizing dad’s rules and identifying with dad
In reality, little boy’s ID wants to kill dad and take mom as his own, which is very unacceptable and causes a great deal of anxiety.
Defence mechanisms develop to hide this desire from ourselves
PS – Girls can have this too. Its called an Electra complex and is more complicated, but just as disturbing.
Defence Mechanisms
When anxiety becomes too overwhelming it is then the place of the ego to use defence mechanisms to protect yourself.
Defence mechanisms work by distorting the id impulses into acceptable forms, or by unconscious blockage of these impulses.
Defence Mechanisms & Examples
Remember – all these defense mechanisms are designed to hide what we really want, from ourselves, because we want things that are socially unacceptable.
- Denial
- Displacement
- Escapism
- Humour
- Inversion
- Isolation
- Projection
- Rationalization
- Reaction Formation
- Undoing
- Sublimation
Psychosexual Development - Name, Age, Principle Task
- Oral Stage, Birth-18 Months, Weaning
- Anal Stage, 18 months - 3/4 years, Toilet Training
- Phallic Stage, 3/4 years - 5-7 years, Sexual Identity
- Latent Stage, 5/7 - Puberty, Learning
- Genital Stage, Puberty - Onwards, Genital Intercourse
Fixation
Strong conflict can fixate people at early stages.
Ie. The Oral receptive personality is preoccupied with eating/drinking and reduces tension through oral activity such as eating, drinking, smoking, and biting nails. They are generally passive, needy and sensitive to rejection. They will easily ‘swallow’ other people’s ideas.
- The Oral aggressive personality is hostile and verbally abusive to others, using mouth-based aggression.
Ie. The Anal retentive personality is stingy, with a compulsive seeking of order and tidiness. The person is generally stubborn and a perfectionist.
- The Anal expulsive personality is the opposite of the Anal retentive personality, and has a lack of self-control, being generally messy and careless.
Pragmatism
- Charles Pierce, William James
- The meaning of a doctrine/idea is the same as the practical effects of adopting it
- Any belief might be respectable (or true) if it works
- But what does ‘works’ mean?
- Many have claimed it is wildly subjective and, therefore, not meaningful
- The motivation of pragmatism is that ‘truth’ must have a connection with success
Problems with Pragmatism
- For many, this philosophy is as stupid as it is dangerous.
- If Nazis were benefited by their belief, does that make it true?
- If slave owners believed in slavery and felt it was beneficial, is that ok? Does it make racist beliefs, true? Obviously not.
- If you work in the oil fields, does climate change become factually incorrect?
Deconstructionism
- a skeptical approach
- there is no privileged point that can confer significance or meaning on any given text or situation
- there is only the limitless opportunity for more commentary and ideas
Jacques Derrida
- Derrida says that meaning must be interpreted – it is never objective
- Many of our ideas are simply linguistic constructs with no objective meaning
- We are not in control of our language and therefore we are not in control of our thoughts and what we know
Foucault’s Deconstructionism
- there is a relationship between power and knowledge and language
- what we take to be knowledge and the ideas through which we understand ourselves are contingent, mutable and ‘ahistorical’ (not developing towards anything better)
- ‘knowledge’ changes in response to the needs of authority to control and regulate our behaviour as individuals
- pessimistic – but we must always re-examine what we think we know
Language and Doublespeak
- Term coined based on 1984, by George Orwell
- In the novel, the government changes the meanings of words, to make it impossible to say things that are critical.
- Based on Foucault’s reasoning, our political leaders do the same thing.
Ie. Biosolids mean poop leaks
because of sewage
Ie. Developing countries are what we call poor countries
Ie. Negative Patient Care Outcome means someone died
Foucault’s Point…..
…is that those who are in powerful positions in society work towards appearing informative while disconnecting any emotional context within which to understand the meaning.
Power changes meanings and we are ignorant of what is occurring.
We are not just…..
being manipulated…..you are also doing it to yourself.
Even knowing that this is an issue, you will still allow it to happen.
Marshall McLuhan
The Medium is the Message
the ways in which we receive information are as important and influential as the information itself = maybe more important
The Tetrad
To see the effects of new media, and new learning, ask the following:
- What is enhanced by this new technology?
- What is made obsolete?
- What is retrieved from obsolescence?
- What happens when the technology is taken to extremes?
The Veld
- Story by Ray Bradbury
- Technology replaces family.
- Fantasy is better than reality, so people prefer it.
- It gives us everything we want.
- Parents get eaten by lions, children prefer non-reality.
The Point of Modern Philosophy:
- Knowledge is becoming increasingly difficult to define and acknowledge - even when we see it.
- We believe what we want to believe.
- We use language deliberately designed to say less.
- We use technology that obfuscates the issues at hand.
The Skeptics were led by ____________
Parmenides
Pyhrro
Plato
Pete
Answer: Pyhrro
Plato - Rationalist or Empiricist?
Rationalist
Empiricist
Neither
Answer: Rationalist
Aristotle believes in the World of Forms. T or F?
True
False
Answer: False
The Noumena/Phenomenon concept was created by:
Mill
Hume
Berkeley
Kant
Answer: Kant
Thomas Aquinas believed that by studying the world, we could understand:
Science
Existence
God
Truth
Answer: God
Hume was from:
England
Wales
Prussia
Scotland
Answer: Scotland
Kant was from:
Russia
Prussia
Germany
Poland
Answer: Prussia
Kant said that you have __________________in your mind.
nothing
categories
God
feelings
Answer: categories
The deep structure of language, would show that Chomsky is:
a rationalist
an empiricist
a religious man
a weird guy
Answer: a rationalist
John Locke believed that you were born a ____________________.
tabula rasa
evil genius
knowledgeable soul
spirit
Answer: tabula rasa
The thing in itself is also called:
phenomena
sensation
tabula rasa
das ding an sich
Answer: das ding an sich
Plato was from:
Rome
Greece
Scotland
Prussia
Answer: Greece
Chomksy is from:
Greece
USA
Prussia
Austria
Answer: USA
Matters of Fact and Relations of Ideas were created by:
Kant
Hume
Aristotle
Chomksy
Answer: Hume
Empiricism says that knowledge is gained through:
time
Rational thought
sensory experience
God
Answer: sensory experience
William James is from:
USA
Russia
Greece
France
Answer: USA
Epistemology is the study of:
Power
Knowledge
Reality
Right and Wrong
Answer: Knowledge
Aristotle believed that all knowledge comes from _____________ reasoning.
inductive
deductive
logical
spiritual
Answer: inductive
There is a gap between what your knowledge and reality that is insurmountable. Sounds like?
Aristotle
Plato
Kant
Chomsky
Answer: Kant
Phenomenalism would say that the attributes of a thing…..
mean that there is NO actual thing.
are irrelevant
are impossible to know
are important
Answer: means that there is NO actual thing.
According to Foucault our use of _________tricks us.
Love
Conformity
Language
Logic
Answer: Language
These aspect of your psyche is all like “you’re a bad person if you do this!”.
ID
EGO
SUPEREGO
UNCONSCIOUS
Answer: SUPEREGO
Noam Chomsky believes that our knowledge is filtered by our:
Media
Language
Brains
Relationships
Answer: Media
A negative response to a TV show or news story is called:
flak
protest
manipulation
siscantic
Answer: flak
There is no actual meaning, is an idea from:
Deconstructionism
Rationalism
Skepticism
Empiricism
Answer: Deconstructionism
Hate my father? No, no he hates ME!
Denial
Projection
Humour
Sublimation
Answer: Projection
Yeah I hate my father….totally normal psychology stage for my age.
Denial
Rationalization
Sublimation
Humour
Answer: Rationalization
I didn’t get broken up with - it was mutual.
Denial
Sublimation
Rationalization
Projection
Answer: Denial
A deep structure in our mind, based on human development/evolution is called:
your psyche
your ego
an archetype
an unconscious
Answer: an archetype
This philosophy says that ‘truth’ should have to do with usefulness.
Skepticism
Rationalism
Deconstructionism
Pragmatism
Answer: Pragmatism
All swans are white, is what type of knowledge?
Matter of fact
Relation of idea
Knowledge of power
Verification principal
Answer: Matter of fact
The fear of the dark comes from our:
Id
Personal unconscious
Ego
Collective unconscious
Answer: Collective unconscious
That kid just bumped into me. I’m going punch him in the mouth.
Ego
Superego
Id
Unconscious
Answer: Id
Inductive reasoning was thought by _______to be the way we learn.
Plato
Aristotle
Chomsky
St. Aquinas
Answer: Aristotle
Not publishing a news story due to fear of people being angry at you is called:
Propaganda
Flak
Advertising
Anti-Communism
Answer: Flak
JTB (Justified True Belief):
Definition: JTB is a criterion for knowledge, positing that for a belief to qualify as knowledge, it must be justified, true, and believed by the knower.
Significance:
1. JTB provides a foundational framework for analyzing knowledge, breaking it down into three components: truth, belief, and justification.
2. It leads to the Gettier Problem, challenging the sufficiency of JTB for knowledge due to the element of luck and prompting the development of alternative theories.
3. JTB’s significance lies in stimulating the emergence of alternative theories of knowledge such as JTB + No False Lemmas and Reliabilism, which refine or expand beyond the original JTB criterion.
Cogito Ergo Sum:
Definition: Latin for “I think, therefore I am,” this philosophical proposition by René Descartes asserts that doubting one’s existence actually affirms it, as doubt presupposes a thinking entity.
Significance:
1. Descartes’ assertion establishes a foundational principle for philosophical inquiry by recognizing the existence of the self.
2. It serves as a response to skepticism, providing a rational basis for overcoming radical doubt and establishing a starting point for knowledge.
3. Descartes’ statement has profound implications for epistemology and metaphysics, prompting the exploration of questions about consciousness, reality, and the mind-body relationship.
Noumena vs. Phenomena:
Definition: Noumena refers to things as they are in themselves, beyond human perception, while phenomena are the appearances of things as they appear to us based on how our brain organizes our sensory experience information.
Significance:
1. Kant’s distinction underscores the inherent limitations of human knowledge, as we can only access phenomena, not noumena.
2. It highlights the role of the mind in shaping perception, leading to a deeper understanding of subjective experience.
3. Kant’s insights laid the groundwork for psychology and cognitive science, fostering a comprehensive understanding of human cognition.
Language Games:
Definition: Language games, introduced by Ludwig Wittgenstein, refer to diverse social practices or activities where language is used, each with its own rules and conventions. Emphasizes the contextual nature of language, suggesting that the meaning of words is derived from the use within these social practices rather than from any fixed or universal reference. The “game” is having a conversation with someone where you assign meaning to words and yet, both people could be talking about two entirely different things as they could have interpreted the definitions of the words differently
Significance:
1. Wittgenstein’s concept challenges traditional theories of language, emphasizing language as a dynamic social practice rather than a fixed structure.
2. It directs attention to the unreliable use of language in shaping human miscommunications and misunderstandings.
3. Practical implications include promoting clearer communication and understanding by considering context and social conventions.
Gettier’s Sheep:
Definition: Gettier’s Sheep, part of the Gettier Problem, challenges the “justified true belief” definition of knowledge. It presents scenarios where beliefs are justified and true but fail to be knowledge due to invalid reasons. For instance, someone with blurry vision sees a rock resembling a sheep, justified in assuming it’s a sheep. However, it’s revealed as a rock with a sheep behind it, making the belief true but not knowledge. This introduces luck as a factor in knowledge, requiring additional criteria beyond justification and truth, as noted by Gettier.
Significance:
1. It exemplifies the broader Gettier Problem, undermining the traditional definition of knowledge.
2. Gettier’s Sheep introduces the concept of luck in determining knowledge, prompting the exploration of alternative criteria for knowledge.
3. Stimulates philosophical inquiry into the criteria for knowledge, leading to the development of alternative theories such as reliabilism and contextualism.
Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST):
Definition: Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST), created by Nancy Hartsock, posits that knowledge is socially situated, rejecting the idea of objective or universal truth. It asserts that individuals’ perspectives are shaped by their social position and experiences, with marginalized groups often having an increased awareness of social structures and power dynamics. According to FST, research and inquiry should prioritize the perspectives of marginalized groups, as they offer valuable insights into our society
Significance:
1. Highlights the epistemic privilege of marginalized groups, offering valuable insights into social structures and power dynamics.
2. Recognizes the unique perspective of female philosophers, as both insiders within academia and outsiders within a male-dominated society, have a unique perspective that bridges academic knowledge and lived experiences. This dual standpoint allows them to offer insights that challenge conventional understandings of social reality and highlight the intersecting dynamics of gender, race, class, and other social categories.
3. By centring the perspectives of marginalized groups, FST disrupts dominant narratives and fosters a more inclusive and critical approach to knowledge production and social analysis
God as the Source of Knowledge:
Definition: The assertion that all knowledge originates from the divine realm, emphasizing the transcendent nature of knowledge and its connection to God. This concept aligns with the teachings of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, who advocated for a balanced approach to knowledge that integrates both reason and revelation. He argued that while intellectual inquiry (reason) is essential for understanding the natural world and uncovering rational truths, it has limitations when it comes to grasping spiritual or metaphysical realities.
Significance:
1. Promotes an epistemological harmony between reason and revelation, integrating both intellectual inquiry and spiritual insight.
2. Instills humility by recognizing the limitations of human reason and the role of divine guidance in understanding ultimate truths.
3. Highlights the power of divine revelation in shaping human understanding, emphasizing its role in spiritual growth.
The Cave:
Definition: In this allegory, prisoners are chained in an underground cave, facing a wall where they can only see shadows cast by objects behind them. These shadows are perceived as reality by the prisoners, as they have never experienced anything beyond the confines of the cave. However, when one prisoner is freed and ventures outside the cave, they are exposed to the true reality of the world, illuminated by the sun. This allegory serves as a metaphor for the distinction between the material world accessible through the senses (the cave) and the realm of immutable, objective truths (the World of Forms) accessible through intellectual insight
Significance:
1. By depicting the prisoners’ gradual realization of the illusory nature of their reality, Plato challenges the conventional understanding of truth and invites readers to contemplate the limitations of sensory perception
2. Provides a metaphor for understanding the relationship between the material world and the realm of transcendent truths. By contrasting the shadows perceived within the cave and with the ultimate reality outside, Plato illustrates the distinction between the short-lived world of sensory experience and the timeless realm of Forms.
3. Has had a profound impact on cultural and literary spheres, resonating across different contexts and time periods. Ie. From Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” to films like “The Matrix” and “The Truman Show,” the allegory’s exploration of truth, perception, and enlightenment has resonated with audiences across different contexts and time periods.
Tabula Rasa:
Definition: The belief, popularized by John Locke, that the human mind is born as a blank slate, devoid of innate ideas, and is shaped by experiences and sensory perceptions.
Significance:
1. Lays the groundwork for empiricism, emphasizing the role of sensory experience in knowledge acquisition.
2. Influences modern pedagogy by emphasizing experiential learning and hands-on experiences in education.
3. Offers insights into human development and cognition, highlighting the malleability of human nature and the role of environmental factors.
Perspectivism:
Definition: Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical theory asserts that all knowledge and interpretations are contingent upon individual perspectives, rejecting the idea of absolute truth and emphasizing the subjective nature of human understanding.
Significance:
1. Challenges traditional notions of objectivity, fostering a critical perspective on the pursuit of absolute truths. Instead, he argues that all knowledge is shaped by subjective perspectives, emphasizing the inherently subjective nature of human understanding
2. Offers an alternative epistemological framework that highlights the role of individual perspectives in shaping knowledge and interpretation. By highlighting the influence of personal experiences, biases, and values on cognition, perspectives provide insights into the limitations of human understanding. his perspective encourages critical reflection on the sources of knowledge and the ways in which they are constructed, as they may be affected by the perspectives of the people creating them
3. Provides insights into human psychology by suggesting that perspectives are influenced by emotions, values, and unique experiences.
The Floating Man:
Definition: The Floating Man is a philosophical concept introduced by Avicenna, a Persian philosopher, in his famous thought experiment. In this scenario, a man is depicted as being suspended in the air without any sensory input since birth, thus devoid of any external stimuli. Despite lacking sensory experience, Avicenna argues that the floating man possesses primordial knowledge of his own existence, suggesting the existence of innate knowledge separate from sensory experience, which he attributed to the transcendent self or “soul”
Significance:
1. Avicenna’s proposition raises questions about the origins and nature of knowledge, suggesting the possibility of inherent understanding independent of sensory experience
2. Stimulates discourse on the role of experience in knowledge formation, highlighting tensions between innate knowledge and experiential learning.
3. Extends beyond philosophy into developmental psychology, offering insights into cognitive development and learning processes as evidenced by studies showing infants’ seemingly innate understanding of causal relationships.
Defence Mechanisms:
Definition: Defence mechanisms, as proposed by Freudian psychoanalysis, are psychological strategies employed by the ego to manage and mitigate anxiety arising from conflicting impulses between the id, ego, and superego. These mechanisms operate unconsciously and serve to protect the individual from distress by distorting reality or redirecting emotional impulses.
Significance:
1. Offers insight into how individuals cope with internal conflicts and external stressors, providing a framework for understanding subconscious mechanisms used to navigate emotional distress.
2. By examining how individuals unconsciously manage anxiety and regulate emotions, Freudian theory deepens our understanding of underlying motivations, conflicts, and coping strategies that shape human actions and interactions
3. Has practical implications for psychotherapy and mental health interventions, helping therapists identify unhealthy defence mechanisms and develop productive coping strategies.
Phenomenalism:
Definition: David Hume’s philosophical position asserts that all knowledge about the external world is limited to perceptions and experiences, suggesting that truth is confined to sensory impressions. According to Hume, we can only know what we perceive through our senses, and we cannot have knowledge of anything beyond our immediate sensory impressions. In other words, our knowledge is confined to the realm of experiences or phenomena, and we cannot access any underlying reality or substance behind these appearances
Significance:
1. Highlights the fundamental limits of human knowledge, challenging notions of absolute truths and emphasizing the subjective nature of experiences.
2. Encourages skepticism toward knowledge claims about the external world, raising questions about beliefs not verifiable through sensory experience.
3. Prompts reflections on metaphysics and philosophy of mind by challenging traditional theories positing the existence of underlying realities beyond sensory perceptions.
Archetypes:
Definition: Carl Jung’s fundamental patterns, symbols, or models are ingrained in the collective unconscious, reflecting universal themes and ideas in human life, commonly found in dreams and creative expressions.
Significance:
1. Forms the basis for universal themes and motifs in literature, art, mythology, and cultural practices, offering insights into the underlying structures of human experience.
2. Illuminates unconscious patterns and motivations, providing a deeper understanding of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.
3. Implicates epistemology by suggesting that archetypes influence cognitive processes, shaping perceptions, beliefs, and interpretations of reality.
Humaneness:
Definition: Confucius’s principle of ren (仁), emphasizes universal love and compassion to foster harmonious social interactions and moral conduct, reflecting profound concern for the well-being of others.
Significance:
1. Provides an ethical framework for guiding human behaviour and promoting empathy, mutual respect, and interconnectedness among individuals.
2. Explores the role of adopting others’ perspectives in knowledge acquisition, fostering empathetic understanding and ethical reciprocity.
3. Highlights the psychological benefits of cultivating virtues like empathy and kindness, contributing to inner peace and overall well-being.
Skepticism - Review
Question Everything
Intellectual complacency is the enemy of finding Knowledge
What is Knowledge? - Review
- Definitions for knowledge often rely on circular reasoning: Truth being “The opposite of a lie” relies on the lie being “The opposite of the truth”
- Definitions like JTB are flawed (Gettier’s problem) but generally correct
Rationalism - Review
- Knowledge is gained through reason and logic alone.
- Senses cannot be trusted as they are subjective and misleading.
- Knowledge is gained through deductive reasoning rather than inductive reasoning.
- Prominent figures are Plato, Descartes, and Chomsky.
Empiricism - Review
- Knowledge is gained through sense experience and inductive reasoning.
- The only knowledge that humans can have is a posteriori
- Humans are a “tabula rasa” at birth, with no inherent knowledge.
- Prominent figures are Aristotle, Avicenna, Abubacer, John Locke
Rationalism vs. Empiricism - Review
- Rationalism is deductive, Empiricism is inductive.
- Rationalism is reliable but relies on intuition to make deductions, ideas you just “know” to be true. Other deductions rely on previous deductions, branching off of our intuitive knowledge.
- Empiricism is unreliable because it places trust in the senses and uses inductive reasoning but is applicable to the real world much more easily.
Confucius (551-479 BCE)
Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and teacher during the Spring and Autumn periods of Chinese history.
Concept - Ren: Humanity, goodness and benevolence as the foundation of Confucianism. Followers of Ren act as humanely and ethically as possible, reaching for goodness in all their relationships.
Ren promotes humanness and respect between all people regardless of social standing, race, or other factors.
Al Ghazali (1058-1111 CE)
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was a Persian Islamic philosopher, theologian, and mystic.
Human reason is limited and unable to find the ultimate truths of the universe.
Concept - God is the source of all fundamental knowledge: Knowledge is found with a combination of reason and divine revelation
Descartes (1596-1650 CE)
René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, often dubbed the “Father of Modern Philosophy.”
Concept - Cogito Ergo Sum (I think, therefore I am) was derived from his method of doubt, which removed all knowledge gained by senses as they are unreliable (RATIONALISM!)
Locke (1632-1704 CE)
John Locke was an English philosopher and physician, known as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers.
Concept - Tabula Rasa: The mind is a blank slate from birth and it is formed through sense experience.
Locke created the foundational and most unifying work for empiricism
Hume (1711-1776 CE)
David Hume was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, and economist.
Concept - Matters of Fact/Relation of Ideas:
Matters of Fact are ideas that are gathered through experience within the world (ie the sun will rise tomorrow) and they are not guaranteed to be true.
Relations of Ideas are ideas that arise from pure rational thought (for example math) and they are true by necessity, as being false would cause a logical contradiction.
Matters of fact are not useful but 100% true, relations of ideals are useful but not 100% true.
Any knowledge we can gain is either useless (Relation of ideas) or flawed (Matters of fact), according to Hume.
Kant (1724-1804)
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher whose work marked a turning point in Western philosophy.
Concept - Phenomena/Noumena: Phenomena is the world of human perception and appearances. It is made out of our sensory experience the way our minds organize it to form our experiences. Noumena is the real world, made up of the “Things in of themselves”,
independent of human perception.
Humans cannot have an understanding of noumena because our understanding of reality is shaped by our own cognitive faculties and conceptual frameworks.
Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, and poet.
Concept- Perspectivism: Reality is completely subjective, and reaching an objective truth is impossible because all ways to view reality are subjective to each individual.
Wittgenstein (1889-1951)
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher, known for his contributions to the philosophy of language and logic.
Concept - Language games: Language is flexible and versatile thing which changes its definitions and rules depending on the contexts in which it is used in.
Language changes as a result of social conditions
Popper (1902-1994)
Karl Popper was an Austrian-British philosopher of science, known for his contributions to the philosophy of science and political philosophy.
Concept- Falsifiability: Falsifiability asserts that scientific theories should be open to falsification through empirical testing. He emphasized the importance of conjecture and refutation in the growth of scientific knowledge.
Gettier (1927-2021)
Edmund Gettier was an American philosopher, best known for his 1963 paper challenging the traditional definition of knowledge.
Concept- Gettier’s Problem: Gettier’s problem challenges JTB by showing that knowledge that is justified, true, and believed can still be flawed in its justification.
The problem involves a sheep behind a rock, and a person with poor vision. The person sees the rock, and believes it’s a sheep. JTB says that the person has knowledge of the sheep, but Gettier’s shows that the knowledge gained is flawed.
Hartsock (1943-2015)
Nancy Hartsock was American feminist philosopher, known for her contributions to feminist theory and political philosophy
Concept: Feminist Standpoint Theory: Knowledge is socially situated, and objective and universal truths do not exist. Social position and experience shape perspectives and truths for each individual social group
Marginalized social groups have a heightened awareness of social struggles and power dynamics, and research on social structure and dynamics should start with the perspectives of marginalized groups.
Chomsky (1928-present)
Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and political activist.
Concept- Language is Innate: Humans are born with language structured into their minds a priori.
Linguistic structures are hardwired into the human brain, shaping the way we perceive and understand the world.
Freud (1856-1989)
Sigmund Freud was a pioneering Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, whose theories on the unconscious mind and its influence on behaviour revolutionized the fields of psychology and psychiatry.
Concept - Id, Ego, Super Ego, Defence Mechanisms: The Id, Ego, and Superego are neurological distinctions Freud gives to the human mind to explain the conflict and anxiety humans feel. The Id is pleasure-driven and irrational. The superego follows the rules given to it by society. The ego mediates between the two to give the Id what it wants while also following the rules of society.
The Ego is your conscious, and the Id and Superego is your unconscious, fighting itself constantly.
Defence mechanisms: Defence mechanisms are tools that our mind uses to hide the anxiety caused by the conflict between the Id and the Superego from ourselves.
Jung (1875 - 1961)
Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology.
Concepts: divides the psyche, collective unconscious, Individuation, Archetypes
Divides the psyche into 3 parts: the ego - the conscious mind (like in Freudian theory), the personal unconscious – both your memories and the things you choose to forget (no instincts, unlike in Freud)
the collective unconscious – totally new part and the most important
Collective Unconscious: This could be called your psychic inheritance, the reservoir of all of our experiences as a species, you are born with it and yet never truly conscious of it
Individuation: The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation —the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development.
ARCHETYPES: the contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes. An archetype is an organizing principle – an unlearned tendency to experience things in a certain way. the archetype has no form of its own – it is just the collection of ideas that have been associated with that idea/image for thousands of years. This is supposed to suggest that the archetypes actually do refer to some deep structure of the human mind. We see in a certain way, hear in a certain way, process information in a certain way, behave in a certain way, because our neurons and glands and muscles are structured in a certain way.
Avicenna (980-1037)
Avicenna was a Muslim-Persian physician, the most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of the medieval Islamic world.
Concept - The Floating Man is a philosophical concept where a man is depicted as being suspended in the air without any sensory input since birth, thus devoid of any external stimuli.
Despite lacking sensory experience, Avicenna argues that the floating man possesses primordial knowledge of his own existence, suggesting the existence of innate knowledge separate from sensory experience, which he attributed to the transcendent self or “soul”
Pragmatism
Charles Pierce (1839 - 1914), William James (1842 - 1910)
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) was the founder of American pragmatism
William James was an American philosopher and psychologist, a leader of the philosophical movement of pragmatism and a founder of the psychological movement.
Concept: Pragmatism is the meaning of a doctrine/idea is the same as the practical effects of adopting it. Any belief might be respectable (or true) if it works. But what does ‘works’ mean? - Many have claimed it is wildly subjective and, therefore, not meaningful.
The overall motivation of pragmatism is that ‘truth’ must have a connection with success
Problems with Pragmatism - For many, this philosophy is as stupid as it is dangerous. If Nazis were benefited by their belief, does that make it true? If slave owners believed in slavery and felt it was beneficial, is that ok? Does it make racist beliefs, true? Obviously not.
Foucault (1926 - 1984)
Paul-Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic
Foucault expanded on Jacques Derriada’s Deconstructionism - there is a relationship between power and knowledge and language. What we take to be knowledge and the ideas through which we understand ourselves are contingent, mutable and ‘ahistorical’ (not developing towards anything better)
‘Knowledge’ changes in response to the need of authority to control and regulate our behaviour as individuals. pessimistic – but we must always re-examine what we think we know
Based on Foucault’s reasoning, our political leaders do the same thing as 1984’s doublespeak.
Ie. Biosolids mean poop leaks because of sewage
Foucault’s Point…is that those who are in powerful positions in society work towards appearing informative while disconnecting any emotional context within which to understand the meaning. Power changes meanings and we are ignorant of what is occurring. We are not just being manipulated you are also doing it to yourself. Even knowing that this is an issue, you will still allow it to happen.
Deconstructionism
A modern philosophy from Algerian-French philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)
a skeptical approach
there is no privileged point that can confer significance or meaning on any given text or situation
there is only the limitless opportunity for more commentary and ideas
Marshall McLuhan (1911-1981)
Herbert Marshall McLuhan)was a Canadian philosopher whose work focused on the study of media theory.
Concept - The Medium is the Message: the ways in which we receive information are as important and influential as the information itself = maybe more important
Denial:
Unconsciously refusing to perceive the more unpleasant aspects of external reality (feelings, events, or both), replacing it with a less threatening but inaccurate one – “No no, our breakup was totally mutual!”
Displacement:
An unconscious defence mechanism, whereby the mind redirects emotion from a ‘dangerous’ object to a ‘safe’ object. “No I don’t hate my ex-girlfriend, I hate all her stupid friends!”
Escapism:
A person uses fantasy, literature or other forms of culture to escape real-world problems or perhaps to deal with difficult emotional problems within the laws of a safe, but imaginary world. “My girlfriend dumped me, but I don’t care because I am going to play Call of Duty all weekend now!”
Humour:
Refocuses attention on the somewhat comical side of the situation as to relieve negative tension – “Yeah, she dumped me. But have you seen her mother? I’m lucky to get out before she starts looking like that!”
Inversion:
Refocusing of aggression or emotions evoked from an external force onto one’s self. “Yeah she dumped me. I’m so useless. Time to get hammered!”
Isolation:
separating feelings and thoughts that are connected. “Yeah she dumped me, but whatever….”
Projection:
Attributing to others, one’s own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts and/or emotions. Projection reduces anxiety in the way that it allows the expression of the impulse or desire without letting the ego recognize it “Yeah she dumped me, but I don’t care. My mom is gonna be upset though.”
Rationalization:
The process of constructing a logical justification for a decision that was originally arrived at through a different mental process; “Yeah she dumped me, but seriously, I’m better off this way. I don’t need to be tied down to a relationship.
Reaction Formation:
The converting of unconscious wishes or impulses that are perceived to be dangerous into their opposites; “Yeah we’re through, but I was gonna break up with her anyways – she’s been really annoying recently. I hated being with her.
Undoing:
A person tries to ‘undo’ a negative or threatening thought by their actions. “Yeah, she dumped me. And its fine. I just need to wash my hands 5 times and turn the lights on and off before we leave.”
Sublimation:
The refocusing away from negative outlets to more positive outlets. Freud considered this defense mechanism the most productive compared to the others that he identified. Sublimation is the process of transforming bad energy into ‘socially useful’ achievements, mainly sport, art, music or literature. Psychoanalysts often refer to sublimation as the only truly successful defense mechanism.
Jung and The Archetypes
THEORY
divides the psyche into 3 parts
the ego – the conscious mind (like in Freudian theory)
the personal unconscious – both your memories and the things you choose to forget (no instincts, unlike in Freud)
the collective unconscious – totally new part and the most important
Collective Unconscious
could be called your psychic inheritance
the reservoir of all of our experiences as a species
you are born with it and yet never truly conscious of it
Individuation
The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation
—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy.
Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development.
ARCHETYPES
the contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes
an archetype is an organizing principle – an unlearned tendency to experience things in a certain way
the archetype has no form of its own – it is just the collection of ideas that have been associated with that idea/image for thousands of years
Archetypes & Structure
This is supposed to suggest that the archetypes actually do refer to some deep structure of the human mind.
We see in a certain way, hear in a certain way, process information in a certain way, behave in a certain way, because our neurons and glands and muscles are structured in a certain way.
The Most Common Archetypes
The Persona - the mask that you wear in different contexts - the student, the employee, the friend - all have different ‘masks’. Your societal role.
The Shadow - the things we choose to repress and not discuss about ourselves. But they are always there, like our shadow.
The Anima/Animus - How our culture tells us that men and women are ‘supposed’ to behave - but we contain the opposite as well - we just suppress it because society says we should.
The Self - The individual (all of them) bad and good, every facet. No two are the same. But you HAVE to really work at this to find what is YOU and what is simply the above archetypes.
An archetype is …
… an original pattern, model, or symbol, a persistent representation of an idea or concept
across cultures that seem to represent common patterns of human life.
Copies can be made of this pattern, making it the basis for universal themes.
Swiss psychologist Carl Jung believed that archetypes are present in the human unconscious and represent the experiences of our human predecessors. They are the “contents of the collective unconscious.”
According to this belief, archetypes are common in dreams, because, according to Jung, they are an unlearned tendency to experience things in a certain way.
The study of these archetypes in literature is known as…
archetypal or mythological criticism.
There are three or four categories of archetypes:
- situation archetypes
Ie. The quest: a situation in which the character(s) are searching for something, whether
consciously or unconsciously. - symbol archetypes (sometimes these first two categories are combined)
Ie. Water (and bodies of water like the sea, the river, etc.): the mystery of creation; eternity and
timelessness; birth-death-resurrection; purification and redemption; fertility and growth.
According to Jung, water is also the most common symbol for the unconscious. The river specifically symbolizes death and rebirth as in baptism; incarnation of deities and transitional phases of the life cycle. - thematic archetypes/archetype motifs
Ie. Creation: perhaps the most fundamental of all archetypal motifs—virtually every mythology is built on some account of how the cosmos, nature, and humankind were brought into existence by some supernatural Being or beings. - character archetypes
Ie. The Terrible Mother (including the negative aspects of the Earth Mother): the witch, sorceress, siren, whore, femme fatale—associated with sensuality, sexual orgies, fear, danger, darkness, dismemberment, emasculation, death; the unconscious in its terrifying aspects.
