How Did Descartes Contribute To Psychology

To what extent if any is Descartes successful in showing there is a real distinction between mind and body

Explain the reasons for the development of psychology as an academic discipline in the 19th and 20th centuries, making explicit the important turning points and breakthroughs.

A person who views history as the actions of individuals is what brought about history believes in personality views, whereas a person how believes the culture and intellectual environment of a particular history era believes in the naturalistic history (Goodwin p. 10)

Mind-body dualism is usually seen as the central issue in philosophy of the mind. The problem with mind-body dualism is that it is unknown whether the mind really is a separate entity from the human body as Descartes states in his argument, or whether the mind is the brain itself. Descartes believed that in a person existed two major components, the physical body and the nonphysical body which was called the mind or soul. As a scientist, Descartes believed in mechanical theories of matter, however, he was also very religious and did not believe people could merely be mechanical creatures that ran like “clockwork.” And so, it was Descartes who argued that the mind directed thoughts. To account for this, he split the world into two parts,

Descartes’ argue that mind is better known than body by first claiming humans as fundamentally rational, meaning “a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is unwilling,” ( Descartes, 19) he therefore argues that humans have the ability to know their proper minds clearly and distinctly. He proposes the conception of the mind where the imagination and the senses are also inherent capabilities of the body (faculties), specifically powers of the mind.

Although Charles Darwin is usually just looked at in the light of purely biology, his work that impacted other fields such as psychology or his work that lead to the rapid expansion of certain fields such as ethology, is often looked over. Darwin’s work impacted these fields both directly and indirectly at such a level of influence that some people believe that psychology should be looked at as pre- and post-Darwin. On the Origin of Species, while being primarily about biological phenomena and theories, was one of these works that impacted psychology indirectly. Other than giving a new perspective for psychologists to possess when contemplating different ideas, Darwin’s work on natural selection lead to the creation of evolutionary psychology.

Descartes had a very mechanistic view of the brain. He believed the body works similar to machines as it is material and follows laws of physics. He suggests that mind and body interact at the pineal gland. He predicted that there are tube-like structures inside our bodies that tighten under

In Meditation six: Concerning the Existence of Material Things, and the Real Distinction between Mind and Body, Rene Descartes wrote of his distinctions between the mind and the body, first by reviewing all things that he believed to be true, then assessing the causes and later calling them into doubt, and then finally by considering what he must now believe. By analyzing Descartes’ writing, this paper will explicate Descartes’ view on bodies and animals, and if animals have minds. Before explicating the answer to those questions, Descartes’ distinctions between the mind and the body should first be summarized and explained.

In the Sixth Meditation, Descartes continues with his discussion about the mind-body problem by addressing the relationship between the mind and body. Descartes states that Anature ...teaches me by these feelings of pain, hunger, thirst, and so on that I am not only residing in my body, as a pilot in his ship, but furthermore, that I am intimately connected with it...@(Descartes 76). This relationship is the connection between the physical needs of the body and the mental acknowledgment of those needs. Although the mind and body are blended, the mind is the most essential.

History and Systems of Psychology is a course requirement offered to Psychology majors and minors. This course is used to provide majors and minors with the foundation and the evolution of the field of psychology. Within this class, many scholars of discussed. Two scholars that stood out to me in this course would be John Watson and Max Wertheimer. These two particular scholars are responsible for two of the most influential and famous schools of thought, behaviorism and Gestalt psychology. These two schools of thought are responsible for changing the field of psychology and introducing the field to new theories and ways of thinking. Although the two schools of thought are similar in being influential but they are different in many ways. The two schools of thought are even said to be contradictory of one another and one is even said to be the cause of the fading out of the other.

It is important to note that Descartes’ revelation came at a pivotal moment in history, when science needed a foothold to escape Church authority. Cleaving the body from the mind allowed scientific advancements in anatomy and physiology while preserving religious doctrines, because they were now associated with the mind (Mehta, 2011). As research in anatomy and physiology progressed, Western medicine became fully entrenched in the dualistic approach. And though the Church had lost some of it’s authority, it still held sway. They took dominion of the non-physical mind, referred to as the

After reading the first chapter, I feel the most interesting section is 1.3 that explains the biological perspective. Descartes was the founder of biological perspective. He had declared that there was a separation between the physical body and spiritual mind. According to his theory, the spirit controls how the mind work, and the body is operated by the physical aspects. This concept then laid the foundation for our modern psychology. The modern psychologists now view the mind as the product of the brain. The mind-body problem is about how they interact; “in this current view, our personalities, preferences, behavior patterns, and abilities all stem from our physical makeup” (Zimbardo,p.9). Therefore, biological psychologists

The mind/body problem is regarding the nature of the relationship between the mind, consciousness, and the physical world. It is a problem because, it brings into question whether the mind and body are separate substances or of the same substance. It also asks whether there is a relationship between the two. The problem also questions what is defined as consciousness, and, how can it arise from normal materials. I don’t believe Descartes has adequately solved it with his concept of dualism because he points out that the pineal gland is responsible for how the two interact since there is no other function for that gland. However biologist have proven Descartes wrong and has no scientific proof that would suggest important functioning in the human body. Also, scientific research discovered

Descartes has a very distinct thought when thinking about the mind, and how it relates to the body, or more specifically then brain. He seems to want to explain that the mind in itself is independent from the body. A body is merely a physical entity that could be proven to be true scientifically and also can be proven through the senses. Such things are not possible with the meta-physical mind because it is independent of the body. Building on his previous premises, Descartes finally proves whether material things exist or not and determines whether his mind and body are separate from each other or not. In Meditation Six, Descartes lays the foundation for dualism which has become one of the most important arguments in philosophy.

Aristotle, a Greek Philosopher, was born in 384 B.C.E. and was known to show an interest in living things. To find out how plants and animals organs sustained life, he collected and dissected them. He deliberately engaged on studying the reproduction of life to see how each generation and actions of living people spoke, remembered, and learned.