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Questions and Answers
What motivated David Hartley to transition from a career as a minister to one as a physician?
What motivated David Hartley to transition from a career as a minister to one as a physician?
What was Hartley's goal as a philosopher?
What was Hartley's goal as a philosopher?
According to Hartley, what are vibratiuncles?
According to Hartley, what are vibratiuncles?
How do complex ideas form, according to Hartley?
How do complex ideas form, according to Hartley?
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What is the relationship between simple ideas and complex ideas, according to Hartley?
What is the relationship between simple ideas and complex ideas, according to Hartley?
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What is the role of contiguity in Hartley's account of association?
What is the role of contiguity in Hartley's account of association?
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What is the relationship between sensations and ideas, according to Hartley?
What is the relationship between sensations and ideas, according to Hartley?
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What is the fundamental composition of all ideas, according to Hartley?
What is the fundamental composition of all ideas, according to Hartley?
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Study Notes
David Hartley's Life and Philosophy
- Son of a Yorkshire clergyman, trained as a minister at the University of Cambridge, but shifted to a career as a physician due to interest in biology
- Remained deeply religious, believing that understanding natural phenomena increased faith in God
- Combined empiricism and associationism with rudimentary physiological notions in his philosophical approach
Hartley's Goal and Account of Association
- Aimed to synthesize Newton's conception of nerve transmission by vibration with empiricism, especially Locke's
- Believed sense impressions produce vibrations in nerves, traveling to the brain and causing similar vibrations in the "medullary substance"
- Brain vibrations give rise to sensations, and remaining diminutive vibrations (vibratiuncles) correspond to ideas
- Ideas are weaker copies of sensations, similar to brain vibrations associated with sensations but weaker
Notion of Simple and Complex Ideas
- Believed complex ideas are formed automatically by the process of association, without active mind processes
- Simple ideas associated by contiguity form complex ideas, and complex ideas combine to form "decomplex" ideas
- All ideas, no matter how complex, are composed of sensations
Application of Laws of Association to Voluntary Behaviour
- Applied the laws of association to understand voluntary behaviour, highlighting the role of association in shaping complex ideas and actions
Influence on the Development of Psychology
- Hartley's work marked a significant step in the development of psychology, influencing future thinkers and researchers in the field
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Description
This quiz explores the life and work of David Hartley, a philosopher and physician who combined empiricism and associationism with physiological notions. Learn about his goals and contributions to the field.
