History I

Ancient & Pre modern Psychological thinking

Why study History & Philosophy?

Perspective

Deeper Understanding

Avoid past mistakes

Identification of trends in research

What is a scientific theory?

Organises and acts as a guide for future observations

Experimentally viable

Attempts to create a taxonomy of similarities and differences across observations and tries to explain them

Identifies scientific laws

What are scientific laws?

A standard relationship between two or more categories of observations.

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What are the two types of scientific law?

Correlational; how categories change each other (allows predictions)

Causal; mutual change and causal relationship (allows prediction & control)

What is a paradigm?

A shared set of assumptions, concepts, values & practises.

A standard agreement for how best to study a phenomenon.

Consists of assumptions about epistemology & ontology.

What is epistemology?

The acquisition of knowledge (how can we know)

Observations & experiments (Positivism) vs interpretation of language (Social Constructivism)

What is ontology?

The nature of the world (what is there to know?)

The mind is influenced by socioeconomic relations (materialism) vs the mind is independent of socioeconomic relations (idealism)

What is positivism?

Key epistemological position

* straight forward direct relationship between external & internal world
* we can fully & directly capture reality
* objective knowledge exists
* our perceptions can mirror reality

What is empiricism?

* key epistemological position
* knowledge derives from the fact of experience
* theory constructed to make sense of our experience/observations

Karl Popper (1902-1994)

* Critique of positivism & empiricism
* Always the possibility of an exception (all swans were white until discovery of black swan) therefore theories never proven to be true
* Instead of induction & verification; deduction & falsification- theories tested by hypotheses that are then rejected
* Experimental psych based on ‘Popperian position’

What is dualism?

The mind & body are two seperate entities (Descartes)

What is monism?

There is one entity. Either mind, or body. Or both unite.

What is rationalism?

* Knowledge derived from our reasoning/mental operations
* Priority given to the thinking mind/mind considered an active agent
* Usually in opposition to empiricism
* Associated with Socrates & Plato

The Stoics (3rd Century BC)

* philosophy on how to morally conduct oneself in everyday life
* ‘everything happens for a reason’
* importance of virtue/acceptance and indifference of one’s fate

The enlightenment (17th century-18th century)

* european intellectual & philosophical movement
* authority of church & monarchy were undermined
* scientific method & empiricism; senses as key sources of knowledge