Empiricism, Sensationalism, and Positivism PDF

Empiricism, Sensationalism, and Positivism PSYCH 303: History of Ideas in Psychology Topic 5 The Enlightenment The enlightenment was ushered in by Renaissance thinkers like Galileo, Newton, Bacon, and Descartes. Competing Perspectives British Empiricism (and Fr...

Empiricism, Sensationalism, and Positivism PSYCH 303: History of Ideas in Psychology Topic 5 The Enlightenment The enlightenment was ushered in by Renaissance thinkers like Galileo, Newton, Bacon, and Descartes. Competing Perspectives British Empiricism (and French Sensationalism) denied Descartes’ conception that some ideas are innate, instead maintaining that all ideas are derived from experience. Sought principles or laws that could account for all mental experience. German Rationalists made an active mind central to their conception of human nature. Knowing the operations of this mind is central to determining how humans understand their world. Romantic philosophers rebelled against both empiricists and rationalists, seeking to understand the total person and prioritizing human emotions and individual uniqueness.  Asserts that the evidence of senses constitutes the primary data of all knowledge Knowledge cannot exist unless this evidence British has first been gathered All subsequent Empiricism intellectual processes must use this evidence and only this evidence in framing valid propositions about the real world Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) Founder of British empiricism Man is a machine functioning within a larger machine Matter and motion as Galileo’s explanation of the universe Used the deductive method of Galileo and Descartes Attempted to apply the ideas/techniques of Galileo to studying humans Government and Human Instincts Governments were necessary to control innate human tendencies of aggressiveness, selfishness, and greediness. Democracy was dangerous because it gives too much freedom to these tendencies. Hobbes’ Empiricism Was a materialist in that the “mind” was a series of motions within the person (a physical monist). Psychological Phenomena Attention Sense organs retain the motion caused by certain external objects Imagination Sense impressions decay over time. Proposed a hedonistic theory of motivation Appetite, seeking or maintaining pleasure; aversion, avoidance or termination of pain drove human behavior There is no free will A strict deterministic view of behavior.  Complex thought processes Complex resulted from law of contiguity (originating with Aristotle). Thought Hobbes was a materialist, mechanist, determinist, Processes empiricist, and hedonist John Locke (1632- 1704) A philosopher who was the most important of the British Empiricists. Set the stage for those who came after him. Heavily influenced by Robert Boyle. Opposition to Innate Ideas All ideas come from sensory experience There are no innate ideas as Descartes proposed. Sensation and Reflection An idea is a mental image employed while thinking and comes from either sensation (direct sensory stimulation) or reflection (reflection on remnants of prior sensory stimulation). The source of all ideas is sensation These ideas can be acted upon by operations of the mind giving rise to new ideas. Operations of the mind include perception, thinking, doubting, believing, reasoning, knowing, and willing – These operations are innate—a part of human nature. Ideas and Emotions Simple ideas – Cannot be divided further into other ideas Complex ideas – Are composites of simple ideas and can be analyzed into their parts (simple ideas). – Are formed through operations being applied to simple ideas through reflection (comparing, abstracting, discriminating, combining and enlarging, remembering, and reasoning). Feelings of pleasure and pain accompany simple and complex ideas, other emotions are derived from these two basic feelings.  Therefore, Locke allowed mental reflection to be an original source of ideas [something not all other empiricists would]. Locke recognized three types of complex ideas: Substances: Distinct particular things existing (or imagined to exist) in themselves [à la Aristotle] E.g. rock, chair, dog, arm, unicorn Modes: Properties that have no existence in themselves, but exist only as an aspect of another Complex Ideas thing E.g. inch, murder, beauty, theft, rainbows, numbers, shapes, emotions, events, mental processes (remembering, imagining, reasoning) Relations: Ideas that relate one mode, substance, or relation to another E.g. Lead is heavier than water. Primary and Secondary Qualities Locke ran with Newton’s idea that not all characteristics of an object are inherent in the object by itself. Primary qualities – Create ideas in us that correspond to actual physical attributes of objects Solidity, extension, shape, motion, and quantity Secondary qualities – Produce ideas which do not correspond to the objects in the real world Color, sound, temperature, and taste Locke specifically noted that secondary sensations are further removed from reality than primary ideas Paradox of the Basins Review: Aristotle’s Recall, for Aristotle, the common sense involves the information from the senses ‘Common being coordinated and synthesized to produce our meaningful experience. Sense’ The Binding Problem The common sense has to do with (what we now call) ‘the binding problem’, by which input from the different senses are bound together to create one coherent object with global properties shared between senses For example, we need to know that what we see in our hand and what we feel is one single object that has properties such as solidity, extension, figure, motion, rest, & number (Primary Qualities) that are shared between the sensory modalities.  “A Man, being born blind, and having a Globe and a Cube, nigh of the same bigness, Committed into his Hands, and being taught or Told, which is Called the Globe, and which the Cube, so as easily to distinguish them by Molyneaux’s his Touch or Feeling; Then both being taken (1688) from Him, and Laid on a Table, Let us Suppose his Sight Restored to Him; Whether Question he Could, by his Sight, and before he touch them, know which is the Globe and which the Cube? Or Whether he Could know by his Sight, before he stretch'd out his Hand, whether he Could not Reach them, tho they were Removed 20 or 1000 feet from Him?”  In his Essays, he responded to Molyneux’s query by suggesting that a formerly blind person given sight would not be able to tell a Locke’s cube from a sphere by sight, having no Response to experience with the looks of either This question has been the subject of many Molyneaux’s empirical tests (that are in broad agreement), going back to 1728, but has Question been more clearly demonstrated with some recent research. Association of Ideas Association was used to explain faulty beliefs, which are learned by chance, custom, or mistake (associated by contiguity). Many ideas are clustered in the mind because of some logical connection among them and some are naturally associated. These are safe types of associations because they are naturally related and represent true knowledge. Education Education of children Parents should increase stress tolerance in their children and provide necessities for good health Teachers should always make the learning experience pleasant as well as recognizing and praising student accomplishments. Government Locke challenged the divine rights of kings and proposed a government by and for the people. Founder of modern liberalism. George Berkeley (1685-1753) Was an Irish bishop and prominent scholar. Opposed materialism because it left no room for God. “To be is to be perceived” “To be is to be perceived,” which basically states that we exist only in being perceived by another Therefore, only secondary qualities exist because they are, by definition, perceived. Principle of Association All sensations that are consistently together (contiguity) become associated. Theory of Distance Perception Berkeley’s theory of distance perception suggests that for distance to be judged, several sensations from different modalities must be associated For example, viewing an object and the tactile sensation of walking toward it. David Hume (1711- 1776) A Scottish philosopher who is best known for his work Treatise of Human Nature. Was never a university professor due to opposition from the Scottish clergy. Was an outright atheist, one of the few among the British empiricists.  Goal was to combine the empirical philosophy of his predecessors with principles of Newtonian science to create a science of human nature. Hume’s Goal Focused on use of the inductive method of Bacon to make careful observations and then carefully generalize. Impressions and Ideas Contents of the mind come from experience Can be stimulated by either external or internal events. Distinguished between impressions and ideas Impressions Strong, vivid perceptions Ideas Weak perceptions Faint images in thinking and reasoning Imagination/Simple and Complex Ideas Simple ideas cannot be broken down further (like Locke) Complex ideas are made of other ideas. Once in the mind, ideas can be rearranged in an infinite number of ways by the imagination. The Association of Ideas For Hume there were three laws of association: Law of resemblance Law of contiguity Law of cause and effect Analysis of Causation Causation, for Hume, is not a logical necessity, but rather is a psychological experience. Analysis of the Mind and the Self For Hume, just as there is no mind independent of perceptions, there is also no self independent of perceptions. The Emotions and Behaviour All humans possess the same passion (emotions) All humans differ in degree of specific emotions The passions determine behavior Therefore, we respond differently to situations. Both animals and humans learn to act in particular ways through experience with reward and punishment. Hume’s Influence Hume vastly increased the importance of psychology. Hume accepted two types of knowledge. Demonstrative knowledge Empirical knowledge David Hartley (1705- 1757) Goal was to synthesize Newton’s conception of nerve transmission (vibrations in nerves) with versions of empiricism. Principles of Association Ideas are diminutive vibrations (vibratiuncles) and are weaker copies of sensations. These may become associated through contiguity, either successive or simultaneous. Simple & Complex Ideas Simple ideas become associated by contiguity to form complex ideas Complex ideas can become associated with other complex ideas to form “decomplex” ideas. Laws of Association and Behaviour Laws of association can be applied to behavior to describe how voluntary behavior can develop from involuntary behavior. Proposed that excessive nerve vibration produced pain and mild to moderate vibration produced pleasure. Behavior is involuntary at first, and then becomes voluntary Objects, events, and people become associated with pain or pleasure through experience, and we learn to behave differentially to these stimuli. Hartley’s Influence  James Mill (1773-1836) Associationism The mind was sensations and ideas held together by contiguity Complex ideas were made of simple ideas. When ideas are continuously experienced together, the association may become so strong that they appear as one idea. Strength of Association Strength of associations is determined by: Vividness of the sensations or ideas By the frequency of the associations Utilitarianism and Associationism John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) Mental Chemistry versus Mental Physics Proposed a mental chemistry in which complex ideas are not made up of aggregates of simple ideas but that ideas can fuse to produce an idea that is completely different from the elements of which it is made. A Science of Human Nature? Science of human nature Primary laws Secondary laws A Science of Human Nature? (Con’t) The thoughts, feelings and actions of individuals cannot be predicted with great accuracy because we cannot foresee the circumstances in which individuals will be placed. Ethology Mill argued for the development of a “science of the formation of character,” which he called ethology. His ethology would explain how individual minds or characters form under specific circumstances. Social Reform Mill was a social reformer who took up the causes of freedom of speech, representative government, and the emancipation of women. Alexander Bain (1818- 1903) Often referred to as the first full-fledged psychologist. Goal was to describe the physiological correlates of mental and behavioral phenomena.  The mind has three components: Feelings Volition Intellect Intellect is explained by the laws of Laws of association, primarily the law of contiguity which applies to sensations, ideas, actions, and feelings. Association Contiguity supplemented by the law of frequency. The laws had their effect in neuronal changes in the nervous system.  Two other laws of association Law of compound association Single ideas are not associated, rather an idea is usually Laws of associated with several other ideas through contiguity or Association similarity. Law of constructive association Mind can rearrange memories of experiences into an almost infinite number of combinations, accounts for creativity. Voluntary Behaviour Voluntary behavior explanation When a need arises, spontaneous or random activity is produced. Some of those movements will produce approximate conditions necessary to satisfy the need, other movements will not. Activities which produce need satisfaction are remembered. When in similar situation again, the activities which previously produced need satisfaction will be performed. Essentially Skinner’s selection of behavior by consequences. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) Universal Education Wollstonecraft argued that girls and women had a right to education, which they had been largely denied. Emotions Wollstonecraft used the word sensibility to refer to the fact that emotions could offer a perspective on situations not offered by reason. The Utopian Tradition French Sensationalism: Man as Machine Like British empiricists, French sensationalists tried to be Newtonians of the mind Stressed that the mind was mechanical in nature Believed the mind could be explained with a few basic principles Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) Goal was to replace Descartes’s deductive, dualistic philosophy with an observational inductive science based on physical monism. “I move, therefore I am” Saw no reason to postulate an immaterial mind Julien de La Mettrie (1709-1751) A strict materialist who believed: The universe is made of matter and motion Sensation and thoughts are movements of particles in the brain. Man is a machine. Humans and animals differ only in degree (of intelligence) Man a Machine Human and Nonhuman Animals Intelligence is influenced by three factors: Brain size, brain complexity, and education Humans Humans are typically superior in intelligence to animals because we have bigger, more complex brains and because we are better educated. Etienne Bonnot de Condillac (1714-1780) Powers which Locke attributed to the mind can be derived from the abilities to sense, to remember, and experience pleasure and pain. The sentient statue The Sentient Statue The Sentient Statue Clearly, Condillac was not writing about statues but was discussing how human mental abilities could be derived from sensations, memories, and a few basic feelings. Charles Bonnet (1720-1793) Was one of the first 18th century scientists to use the term evolution. Extended Condillac’s sentient statue by examining the physiological mechanisms of sensory processes. Claude-Adrien Helvetius (1715-1771) Explored the implications of the empiricist and sensationalist proposal that contents of the mind come only from experience. Proposed that if you control experience you control the mind of the person – Thus social skills, moral behavior, and genius can be taught by controlling experience. Empiricism became radical environmentalism Pierre Cabanis (1757-1808) Maine de Biran (1766-1824) A complex figure whose intellectual positions concerning psychology went through four distinct phases. Positivism Scientism: the belief that science, not religion, is the only valid knowledge, provides the only information one can believe For these people, science itself takes on some of the characteristics of a religion Auguste Comte (1798-1857) Comte’s Positivism Proposed that the only thing we can be sure of is that which is publicly observable Sense experiences that can be perceived by others Positivism equates knowledge with empirical observation The Law of Three Stages Proposed the law of three stages Meaning societies and disciplines pass through stages defined by the way members explain natural events. First stage Theological, based on superstition and mysticism Second stage Metaphysical, based on unseen essences, principles, causes, and laws Third stage Scientific, description, prediction, and control of natural phenomena. Religion and the Sciences Proposed a religion of humanity which was a utopian society based on scientific principles and beliefs. Humanity replaced God; scientists and philosophers would be the priests in this religion Also arranged sciences in a hierarchy from the first developed and most basic to the most recently developed and most comprehensive in this order: Mathematics → astronomy → physics → chemistry → physiological biology → sociology Ernst Mach (1838- 1916) Proposed a second brand of positivism Differed from Comte’s positivism primarily in what type of data science could be certain about. He thought that we can never experience the physical world directly. Mach insisted on defining scientific concepts in terms of procedures used to measure them instead of their “ultimate reality” or “essence” Anticipating the concept of the operational definition Logical Positivism In the 1920s, a group of scientists and logicians founded a view called logical positivism, which was an attempt to formulate general principles for gathering knowledge. Verification Principle Protocol Sentences Dispositional Concepts Questions? Questions to Consider What was Hobbes’s explanation of human motivation? According to Locke, what was the difference between primary and secondary qualities? How did the paradox of the basins demonstrate this difference? Explain Berkeley’s statement “To be is to be perceived.” Did Berkeley deny the existence of external reality? Summarize Hume’s analysis of causation. Summarize Hartley’s explanation of association. Compare the “mental physics” of James Mill with the “mental chemistry” of his son John Stuart Mill. Summarize Bain’s contributions to psychology. Include in your answer the new laws of association that he added and his explanation of how spontaneous activity is transformed into voluntary behavior. Why did La Mettrie believe that it was inappropriate to separate the mind and body? How did Condillac use the analogy of a sentient statue to explain the origin of human mental processes? Give the examples of how attention, feeling, comparison, and surprise develop. Describe the stages that Comte believed cultures (and individuals) went through in the way they attempted to explain phenomena. Compare Mach’s version of positivism with Comte’s. Readings for Next Class ENJOY READING WEEK JJJJ Read Henley- Chapter 6 Optional Reading: Spinoza- Ethics (Part III) NOTE: You may want to also read Chapter 7 in advance for your final paper.