Psychology
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
- Behavior- Anything that can be observed
- Mental Processes- internal experiences such as thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions
- Systematic study- Systematic collection and examination of data to support or disprove hypothesis rather than depending on common sense
Key Players in the History of Psychology
Roots of Psychology can be traced back 2000 years ago to early philosophers, biologists, and psychologists of ancient Greece
Hippocrates
- Greek Psychologist that thought the mind or soul resided in the brain
- He believed that it was not composed of physical substance
- Dualism- Seeing the mind and body as two different things that interact
Plato (350 B.C)
- A Greek philosopher that believed that who we are and what we know are innate
Aristotle
- Plato's student
- believed that who we are is acquired from experience
- Saw the mind and body as different aspects of the same thing
John Locke
- Believed that knowledge comes from observation and what we know comes from experience
- Coined the term " Tabula Rasa", meaning blank slate.
- Believes that the mind is a blank slate in which the environment writes upon
Rene Descartes
- Believed that what we know is innate
- " I think; therefore I am"
Nature Vs. Nurture
The common debate whether our behavior is inborn or learned through experience
Nature -Ideas are innate to the human mind
Nurture - Anything we know is leaned through experiences
"Men are made; not born"
Do you believe that what we know is innate like Plato or or that it is acquired from experience like Aristotle did? I personally agree with Aristotle because we are born with a blank state of mind like John Locke calls it. Our knowledge comes from what we have observed and experienced, that is why we are all different individually.
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