PSYC1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Subjective Idealism, Monism, Reductionism
8 Jun 2018
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Lecture 3
• Establishment of the first psychological laboratory is Leipzig in 1879
• Typical exam question: why is neuro-imagine sometimes criticizes as
Modern-Day-Chronology?
Identifying highly specialised area doesnt tell is much about how the
world works
How do we gain knowledge of the world? How do we gain consciousness?
• Nature vs. nurture? What is there and what needs to be learnt.
• Nature: most knowledge is present at birth
• Nurture: you learn in your environment an thats how it gets to your brain
• Nativism vs. Empiricism (philosophical views: how dependent we are
on experience when acquiring knowledge (where rationalism sees a role
for reasoning; as a source to gain knowledge with parts being innate)
• Body vs. mind
- (Monism) Materialism: everything is tissue (reductionism)
- (Monism) Subjective idealism: the world only exists in my mind
- (Dualism) Both mind and body exist, need to talk to each other
(interactionism)
William Molyneux
• The question Molneux asked to John Locke was whether a man who has
been born blind and who has learn to distinguish and name a globe and a
cube by touch, would be able to distinguish and name these objects to
simplify by sight, once he has been enabled to see
Aristotle
• 384-322 BC
• greek philosopher
• Knowledge through (perception)
Rationalism of Plato (nativism)
• Not just passive registering but an act
• Some information can be innate and we can reason; on it
• So, cant be empiricism
• Perception doesnt help to find real knowledge about the world
Consciousness: The Body-Mind problem
• Monism
- Materialism: there is only the body, all reality is of physical nature. The
mind can be explained/reduced to biology and biochemical activity (aka
reduction)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Modern-day-chronology: establishment of the first psychological laboratory is leipzig in 1879, typical exam question: why is neuro-imagine sometimes criticizes as. What is there and what needs to be learnt: nature: most knowledge is present at birth. Aristotle: 384-322 bc, greek philosopher, knowledge through (perception) Rationalism of plato (nativism: so, cant be empiricism, not just passive registering but an act, some information can be innate and we can (cid:494)reason; on it, perception doesn(cid:495)t help to find (cid:494)real(cid:495) knowledge about the world. Materialism: there is only the body, all reality is of physical nature. The mind can be explained/reduced to biology and biochemical activity (aka reduction) Mentalism (aka immaterialism or subjective idealism) reality only exists in min. without mind, reality might not even exist ( so the physical world would be irrelevant: dualism. Both exists, but they need to interact with each other.
