Foundations of Psychology

1. Foundations of Psychology • Early Greek Philosophers – source of most of our western ideas • Medicine – primarily early Greek and Roman involved a transition from mysticism to more scientific ideas

2. Early Greek Philosophers • Thales • Things in the universe consist of natural substances and operate through natural laws • Use of mathematics to predict future events • Stressed the importance of critical thinking

3. Early Greek Philosophers • Pythagoras – student of Thales • Described a mathematical relationship between the physical world and our psychological experience • Much of his work with mathematics became the basis for Western science • Also important, he was a strong influence on a later philosopher, Plato

4. The Greek Physician Hippocrates • Hippocrates – made medical and psychological contributions • Medical • Diseases are the result of natural processes • Help the body help itself – do no harm • Psychological • Brain is the center of mental processes • Epilepsy is a disease not an intervention of the gods • One side of the brain controlled the opposite side of the body

5. The Roman Physician Galen • 130-200A.D. – court physician to Roman Emperor • Reintroduced the brain as the center of thought • Described the basic methods involved in what is now called psychological therapy • Not always correct – described the function of the heart wrong

6. Socrates • A rationalist who used deductive reasoning • Questioned everything, even things people were sure they knew • Role of a teacher is to help students find truth • Sentence to death for “undermining the state and corrupting the youth

7. Plato • Student of Socrates and used similar methods of thought • Encouraged students to look for underlying realities • Our sensory information is unreliable • Plato’s Republic – probably his most important work

8. Aristotle • Student of Plato • Used inductive reasoning instead of deductive – careful observation better than pure rational thought • Developed basic principles of memory that continue to be used today • His use of inductive reasoning also led him to incorrect conclusions

9. Aristotle • Became one of the most important influences on Western Philosophy and science • However one idea was used by others to severely hinder the advancement of science for nearly 1000 years

10. The Idea of the Unmoved Mover • Teleology – everything is directed towards a definitive end and a final purpose • An acorn’s purpose is to grow to be an oak tree • A girl is potentially a woman, but first an actual woman has to exist • For all potential things to exist a being of pure actuality had to exist, the unmoved mover

11. Christianity and Aristotle • Theologians combined the concept of the unmoved mover and the Hebrew religion to conceive the Christian God as a conscious entity • Aristotle must have been divinely inspired

12. Christian Church and Science • Aristotle became the final authority on all worldly affairs–scientific exploration no longer necessary • True knowledge can only be gained by ignoring sensory information • These bodily functions are the source of most human problems - similar to Plato, but different • These problems can only be solved by a faith in God

13. End of Roman Era Beginning of “the Dark Ages” • In Europe, Christianity controlled all philosophical thought and the behavior of the people • Aristotle the authority for all non-theological thought • Greek and Roman writings were lost or destroyed mostly by neglect

14. Return of Science – Latter Part of Middle Ages • The works of Greeks and Romans still important to Islamic cultures and there works were translated into Arabic • Islam spread across northern Africa and the Mediterranean • Bringing these works had come back to Western Europe

15. Return of Science – Latter Part of Middle Ages • Reintroduction of Greek and Roman ideas led to a renewed interest in philosophy and science • Served as a precursor to the Renaissance period and beginning of modern science • Attention shifted from being God centered to being human centered – use observation to learn about nature and the world

16. 4 Themes of Renaissance Humanism • 1. curiosity about human abilities and accomplishments • 2. a desire to make religion more individualistic and less ceremonial • 3. greater interest in the past • 4. opposition to the mindless support of Aristotle as the authority on all things science

17. Renaissance Period • Movement to science strengthened by findings that much conventional wisdom was wrong • Copernicus – change from a geocentric view of the universe to a heliocentric view • Galileo and British scientists advanced the use of science and the scientific method