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Chapter 2
Philosophical Influences on Psychology
In 1739, a new machine was showcased in France that captured the intellectual spirit, or
Zeitgeist, of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. The ―defecating duck‖ was revolutionary in
that it could quack, rise up on its legs, stretch out its neck, grab and swallow grain, and defecate
just like a live duck. This invention is but one example of the new machines that were created for
daily living and amusement. Such machines demonstrate mechanism, which is the idea that all
natural processes are mechanically determined and can be understood by insight in chemistry and
physics. Galileo and Newton started this doctrine with their conceptualization of the clockwork
universe, which suggests that every physical effect is derived from a direct cause. Thus, if the
cause could be fully understood, one would be able to make predictions. This intellectual
atmosphere directly influenced the direction that psychology would eventually take by
incorporating new technology into the methods and practice of science. With technology came
increased precision. The scientific focus of the time was on observation, experimentation, and
measurement.
Another new invention of the seventeenth century was the mechanical clock, which was
referred to as the ―mother of machines.‖ Clocks brought about regularity, order, and
predictability to all levels of social class and economic circumstance. They also ushered in the
idea that precision and regularity can apply to the universe. It was believed that a clockwork
universe, once set in motion by God, would function with order, regularity, and predictability.
This set the tone for determinism, ―the doctrine that acts are determined by past events,‖ as well
as reductionism, attempting to reduce complex phenomena into simpler components.
Machines built to imitate humans and other animals were called automata. The
―defecating duck‖ was one such machine, and there were many more, such as a five and a half
foot tall automaton that looked like a man and could actually play a flute. Philosophers began to
incorporate the idea of mechanism and automata in their approach to understanding human nature.
Many believed that mechanical laws govern human behavior, and the methods used to investigate
the universe can be used to investigate human behavior. The Zeitgeist of the mechanical man that
pervaded science and philosophy was echoed in literature, with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and
L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz books.
Charles Babbage exemplified the intellectual spirit of the time when he invented a
‖difference calculator‖ that could imitate human mental actions like playing chess and conducting
mathematical calculations. It is the direct forerunner of the modern computer and started the idea
of ―artificial intelligence‖. One of Babbage’s supporters was Ada Lovelace, who described
Babbage’s machine and how it worked. She identifies a fundamental difference between a
thinking machine and a human, that is, a machine cannot create something new, it can only do
what it is programmed to do.
Until the seventeenth century, when empiricism introduced new ideas to be formed
through observation, prevailing thought was dictated by the dogmatism of the church. Although
many scholars contributed to the introduction of psychology, Rene Descartes is credited as having
inaugurated modern psychology. Descartes’ approach to philosophy was to discard all that he
knew and to build his knowledge from scratch. One of the issues he tackled was the mind-body
problem: ―the question of the distinction between mental and physical qualities.‖ If the mind and
body are different, then how do they interact with each other?
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Descartes agreed with previous thought that mind and body are different. Unlike his predecessors
who thought that mind controlled body, he believed in a mutual interaction, which means that the
body also controls the mind to some extent. This placed more importance on the body’s
functioning and allowed it to become subject of scientific inquiry.
Being influenced by the automata and machines of his day, Descartes believed that the
body could be explained mechanically. For example, he thought that some movements are not
governed by the conscious experience but by stimulus outside of the body that elicits an
involuntary response, which was later termed the reflex action theory. If the body can be
described mechanically, then human behavior can be predictable; like with other machines, all
movements (effects) happen because of causes and as long as one knows the causes one can
predict the effects.
Descartes was a dualist, believing that the mind and body were separate entities. This left
him with the problem of how they interact. He looked to the brain, and saw that structures were
duplicated in each hemisphere, except for the pineal body. For this reason, he saw this structure
as the vehicle through with the mind and body interact. Perhaps his biggest influence on
psychology comes through Descartes’ doctrine of ideas. He believed the mind had two types of
ideas; derived ideas, which are ―produced by the direct application of an external stimulus‖ and
innate ideas, which ―arise from the mind or consciousness, independent of sensory experiences.‖
Auguste Comte was also influential to modern psychology when he founded positivism
(an ideal system based exclusively on facts that are objectively observable and not debatable).
Comte believed that while the physical sciences had already reached a positivist stage, the social
sciences would have to abandon metaphysical questions and explanations in order to do so.
Similarly, the doctrine of materialism believes that ―the facts of the universe could be described in
physical terms and explained by the properties of matter and energy.‖ On the other hand, the
doctrine of empiricism proposed that ―all knowledge is derived from sensory experience.‖
Positivism, materialism, and empiricism all provided some of the philosophical basis for
psychology, yet empiricism played the major role.
One of the main British empiricists was John Locke. His major influence on psychology
is his book An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which ―marks the formal beginning of
British empiricism.‖ He rejects Descartes’ innate ideas, and says that at birth the human mind is a
tabula rasa, or a blank slate, and we acquire knowledge through our experiences. Locke defines
two types of experiences: sensation (direct sensory input), and reflection (interpretations of
sensations to form higher-level thinking). These experiences combine to form ideas. The first are
simple ideas, which come from both sensation and reflection and can’t be broken down further.
The second are complex ideas, which are combinations of simple ideas. This sets the ground for
association, which psychologists later call learning. According to Locke, everything begins with
the objects in space and our sensations of them. Such objects have two qualities: primary
qualities, which exist in the object whether we perceive them or not (such as size and shape), and
secondary qualities, which exist not in the object but in our perception of it (―such as color, odor,
sound, and taste‖). Locke, like Galileo before him, was making the distinction between what is
subjective and what is objective and thus highlighting the importance of human perception.
George Berkeley addressed the question of whether any real differences in stimulus
existed. Berkeley believed that there were only secondary qualities, and all knowledge is a
function of perception (this position later is called mentalism). With this conception, we can
never know the real world in an objective way. However, Berkeley believed that stability exists
because God constantly perceives the world. For example, when a tree falls in the forest, it still
makes a sound even if no one is around to hear it, because God perceives the sound.
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David Hartley, with his work on association, proposed that repetition is necessary to form
associations. He believed that ideas occurring simultaneously are associated, and the more
frequently those ideas occur together, the stronger the association. He applied the theory of
association to explain mental activities, such as memory, reasoning, and emotion, and believed
that because of repetition, these mental activities are strengthened in adulthood. He also
suggested that nerves were solid (not hollow as Descartes thought) and vibrated to transmit
messages.
James Mill applied mechanism to the mind with the aim to prove that the mind was a
machine (in contrast to the previous philosophers who stated that the mind was like a machine).
He believed that the mind simply responds to external stimuli, makes associations passively, and
can be studied by reducing it down to elements. His son, John Stuart Mill, said that the mind was
not passive but active in associating ideas. He said that complex ideas are more than just the
combination of simple ones, because they take on new qualities. This idea is known as creative
synthesis. His approach applies the laws of chemistry to the mind; ―mental chemistry‖ suggests
that simple ideas combine to form complex ideas which are more than just the sum of their parts.
The rise of empiricism lead to a focus on sensation, conscious experience, mental
processes, and association of ideas. The methods used to analyze these principles became
atomistic, mechanistic, and positivistic.
Outline
I. The Defecating Duck and the Glory of France
A. In 1739, mechanical duck was a popular marvel, because it:
1. quacks
2. rises up on its legs
3. stretches out its neck
4. picks up and swallows grain
5. defecates
B. Example of the newfound fascination with machines
II. The Spirit of Mechanism
A. 17th to 19th century Zeitgeist
1. reflected in the various machines used in daily life
2. reflected in amusement with mechanical figures that mimicked human action,
3. fascination with the mechanical clock
4. considerable advances of technology
5. reflected in the view of the universe as an enormous machine
6. reflected in mechanism: all natural processes are mechanically determined and
can be explained by the laws of physics and chemistry
7. originated in physics (then called natural philosophy) with the work of Galileo
and Newton (who was trained as a clockmaker)
a. Galileo: matter is comprised of atoms that affect one another by
direct contact
b. Newton: movement was not by actual physical contact but by forces
that attract and repel atoms
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8. implies every physical effect follows from a direct cause, thus it is measurable,
predictable, orderly
9. have distinguishing features of science
a. observation
b. experimentation
c. measurement
(1) describing all phenomena with a numerical value
(2) measuring devices become more precise
(3) precise measurements (taken by timepieces) particularly
important for observations, navigation, astronomy
III. The Clockwork Universe
A. Clock as metaphor for mechanism
1. produced in great quantity and variety
2. clocks were
a. available to all levels of society (clocks built into public buildings)
b. regular
c. predictable
d. precise
3. a model of the universe
a. Robert Boyle, Johannes Keller, and Rene Descartes believed that
the harmony and order of the universe was analogous to the
reliability or regularity of the clock
b. Christian von Wolff: ―The universe behaves no differently than a
clockwork‖
c. Johann Christophe Gottsched, von Wolff’s student, elaborated on
this premise
B. Determinism and reductionism
1. determinism: acts are caused by past events
2. explanation for the universe using the model of a clock
a. its parts function with order and regularity
b. we can understand its functions and functioning
c. we can predict changes that will occur from its past and present
characteristics
3. reductionism: phenomena can be explained by reduction to their basic
components
a. reduce a clock to its components such as springs and wheels to
understand its functioning
b. implies that analyzing or reducing the universe to its simplest parts
will produce understanding of it
c. characteristic of every science, including psychology
C. Automata: mechanical devices built to imitate human and animal movement
1. similar designs were made by ancient Greeks, Arabs, Chinese
2. complex machines simulated human/animal behaviors
a. Examples include: defecating duck, animated flute player, monk,
harpsichord player
3. clockwork technology led to dreams of creating artificial beings
D. People as machines
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1. model of human beings adopted from the creation of automata: the body as a
machine made by God
2. suggests that human functioning and behavior are governed by mechanical law
3. implies experimental and quantitative methods of physics can be applied to the
study of human nature
4. Julien de La Mettrie: the individual as an enlightened machine, like a watch
that winds its own string
5. culturally pervasive: in the general population, in literature, in gardens, in
clock towers
E. The calculating engine
1. invented by Charles Babbage: British mathematician
2. called ―the difference engine,‖ the calculator did basic math, had memory,
played games
3. first successful attempt to duplicate human cognitive processes
4. after 10 years, Babbage turned to work on a larger ―analytical engine,‖
programmed through punch cards with separate memory and information
processing capacity and printed output
5. cost overruns caused the British government to cancel funding
6. Ada Lovelace, age 18 and a math prodigy, published explanations of its
functioning, potential uses, philosophical implications, and limitations in terms
of originality or creativity.
7. although Babbage thought the significance of his achievements would never be
sufficiently acknowledged, the first completely automatic computer was
recognized (in 1946) as the realization of Babbage’s dream
8. Babbage developed a form of artificial intelligence that was ahead of his time
IV. The Beginnings of Modern Science
A. Empiricism: the pursuit of knowledge through observation and experimentation
1. replaced dogma and church doctrine as ruling forces of inquiry
2. Descartes: symbol of the transition to free scientific inquiry and forerunner of
modern psychology
B. René Descartes (1596-1650)
1. born in France
2. inherited wealth allowed him to travel and pursue intellectual and scientific
interests
3. attracted to applied research
4. had life-changing dreams
a. ―spirit of truth‖ convinced him that mathematical principles can be
applied to all sciences and produce certainty of knowledge made up
his mind to accept as true only those things of which he was
completely sure
5. lived a life of solitude, moved frequently, always lived near a Catholic church
and a university
6. died in Sweden, tutoring Queen Christina in philosophy
7. 16 years later friends shipped a coffin to return his body to France
a. coffin too short; head cut off and left in Sweden
b. finger cut off by French ambassador for a souvenir
c. ceremonious burial in Paris
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d. skull passed among Swedish collectors for 150 years and eventually
buried in France
V. The Contributions of Descartes: Mechanism and the Mind-Body Problem
A. The mind-body problem
1. ―Are mind and body—the mental world and the material world—distinct from
each other?‖
2. pre-Descartes direction of influence: mind influences body, but not vice versa;
much like how a puppet (body) and puppeteer (mind) are joined
3. Descartes: a mutual interaction
4. functions previously attributed to mind (reproduction, movement) now
attributed to body
5. only function of mind is thought
6. diverted attention from the soul to the scientific study of mind Descartes
shifted the methods of intellectuals: from subjective metaphysical analysis to
objective observation and experimentation
B. The nature of the body
1. body is matter
a. has extension and capacity for movement
b. laws of physics and mechanics account for and explain its
movement
2. body is a machine
a. nerves are pipes
b. muscles and tendons are engines and springs
c. action not voluntary but due to external objects
3. involuntary movements
a. undulatio reflexa—movement not determined by conscious will
b. reflex action theory: external object can bring about an involuntary
response (precursor to S-R psychology)
4. human behavior is predictable if inputs are known
5. support from physiology
a. circulation of the blood
b. muscles work in opposing pairs
c. sensation and movement depend on the nerves
6. support of Christian thought
a. animals do not possess souls, feelings, immortality, thought
processes, or free will
b. animal behavior: explained totally in mechanistic terms
C. The mind-body interaction
1. mind
a. is nonmaterial
b. is unitary (interacts with body at a single point)
c. thinks, perceives, wills
d. provides information about the external world
e. influences and is influenced by the body
f. has the brain as its focal point
2. conarium (pineal gland)
a. single and unitary
b. material
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c. the site of the mind-body interaction
3. method of interaction
a. movement of animal spirits in nerve tubes impress upon the
conarium
b. from this impression the mind produces a sensation
c. the reverse activity produces mental effects on the body, e.g.,
voluntary movement
D. The doctrine of ideas
1. derived ideas
a. occur from the immediate application of an external stimulus such
as the sound of a bell or sight of a tree
b. are products of the experiences of the senses (e.g., the tone, the
image)
2. innate ideas
a. develop from within the mind rather than through the senses
b. led eventually to the nativistic theory of perception, i.e., perception
is innate
c. influenced Gestalt psychology
d. inspired opposition by Locke, Helmholtz, Wundt
E. Authors’ summary of Descartes’ contributions to the development of psychology
1. the mechanistic conception of the body
2. the theory of reflex action
3. the mind-body interaction
4. the localization of mental functions in the brain
5. the doctrine of innate ideas
VI. Philosophical Foundations of the New Psychology: Positivism, Materialism, Empiricism
A. European philosophy: foundations of the science of psychology
1. Comte (1798-1857): positivism
a. ―The doctrine that recognizes only natural phenomena or facts that
are objectively observable.‖
b. in the attempt to review all human knowledge, limited his work to
scientific facts refers to the ―objects of sense,‖ rather than
―nonsense‖
2. materialism: ―The doctrine that considers the facts of the universe to be
sufficiently explained in physical terms by the existence and nature of matter.‖
a. Consciousness explained in terms of physics and chemistry
b. mental processes due to physical properties: brain anatomy and
physiology
3. empiricism: ―all knowledge is derived from sensory experience.‖
a. knowledge is from sensory experience
b. contrasts with Descartes’ nativism (innate knowledge)
c. empiricists include John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hartley,
James Mill, and John Stuart Mill
4. positivism, materialism, and empiricism were the philosophical cornerstones of
the emerging science of psychology, with empiricism having the greatest
impart
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B. John Locke (1632-1704)
1. life
a. at first an indifferent student, amusing himself with dabbling
b. became serious when exposed to natural philosophy
c. taught Greek, writing, and philosophy and practiced medicine in
England
d. interested in politics, secretary, confidant, and friend of the Earl of
Shaftsbury
e. fled to Holland when the Earl, but not he, was in a plot to overthrow
King Charles II
f. upon return to England, resumed politics, wrote education, religion,
and economics books
g. particularly concerned with religious freedom and self-government
h. advocated government liberalism; influenced the authors of the
American Declaration of Independence
i. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
(1) represented 20 years of work
(2) ―marks the formal beginning of British empiricism‖
2. How does the mind acquire knowledge?
a. rejected existence of innate ideas
b. any apparent innateness due to early learning and habit
c. all knowledge is empirically derived: mind as a tabula rasa
(Aristotle’s concept) or blank slate
3. sensation and reflection: two kinds of experiences
a. sensations: input from external physical objects experienced as
sense impressions, which operate on the mind
b. reflections: mind operates on the sense impressions to produce ideas
c. sensations precede reflections
d. reflection:
(1) recollection of past sensory impressions
(2) combinations yield abstractions and other higher-level ideas
4. In Their Own Words: Original Source Material on Empiricism
from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
a. illustrates ―how…theorists presented their ideas and acquaint you
with the explanatory style previous generations of students were
required to study.‖
b. all knowledge is founded from experience
c. external observation (sense qualities) and internal operations of the
mind are the ―Fountains of Knowledge‖ from which all ideas flow
d. sense qualities (sensations): ―Yellow, White, Heat, cold, Soft, Hard,
Bitter, Sweet‖
e. perceiving the operations of the mind (reflections): ―Perception,
Thinking, Doubting, Believing, Reasoning, Knowing, Willing, and
all the different actings of our own minds….‖
f. sensation and reflection, ―are, to me, the only Originals from
whence all our Ideas take their beginnings.‖
5. simple ideas and complex ideas
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a. simple
(1) arise from either sensation or reflection
(2) ―received passively from the mind‖
(3) ―cannot be analyzed or reduced to even simpler ideas‖
b. complex
(1) creation of new ideas through reflection
(2) combinations of simple ideas
(3) can be analyzed and/or reduced
6. theory of association
a. association = learning
b. linking of simple ideas/elements into complex ones
c. laws of association akin to laws of mechanics; mind = machine
7. primary and secondary qualities
a. primary qualities: objective, exist independently of being
experienced (perceived)
(1) object size
(2) object shape
b. secondary qualities: subjective, exist in the experience of the object
(1) color, odor, sound, taste, warmth or coldness
(2) a feather tickles because of our reaction to it, not the feather
itself
c. only primary qualities exist apart from the perceiver
C. George Berkeley (1685 – 1753)
1. perception is the only reality
a. primary qualities do not exist if not perceived
b. mentalism: ―The doctrine that all knowledge is a function of mental
phenomena and dependent on the perceiving or experiencing
person.‖
c. perception as subjective; experience does not mirror external reality
d. physical world is the summation of our sensations
e. therefore, we never know physical objects exactly
f. apparent independence, stability, and consistency in material
objects arises from God, the permanent perceiver
2. the association of sensations is mechanical
a. knowledge is constructed from simple ideas and held together by
associations
b. depth perception comes from experience of eyes accommodating
and converging as we move toward or away from objects
D. David Hartley (1705-1757)
1. association by contiguity; (Hartley’s basic law of association)
a. ideas or sensations that occur together, simultaneously or
successively, become associated
b. contiguity explains memory, reasoning, emotion, voluntary and
involuntary actions
2. also law of association by repetition
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a. ―The notion that the more frequently two ideas occur together, the
more readily they will be associated.‖
b. explains why as we reach adulthood, higher systems of thought are
developed
3. empiricist, like Locke
a. developmental approach: adult thinking, judging, and reasoning can
be reduced to earlier occurring simple ideas
b. the first to apply a theory of association to explain all types of
mental activity
4. influence of mechanism
a. applied mechanical principles to physiological processes that
underlie psychological processes
b. vibrations in solid nerves transmit impulses throughout the body
c. set in motion smaller vibrations in brain which are the physiological
counterparts of ideas
E. James Mill (1773-1836)
1. more radical perspective: the mind is a machine
a. his goal: to destroy the idea of subjective or psychic activities
b. like a clock–passive, acted on by external stimuli and operated by
―internal physical forces‖ no place for free will (see Skinner’s
behaviorism) or spontaneity
c. mind is to be studied by method of analysis to identify its elements
(see Wundt, Titchener)
d. mental elements: sensations and ideas
e. extremely mechanistic
f. complex ideas solely due to contiguity alone; association
(1) may be simultaneous or successive
(2) is automatic and passive
g. the mind has no creative function
h. agreed with Locke that the mind is a blank slate at birth, upon
which experience builds
F. John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873)
1. life
a. treated by his father, James, as a blank slate; unceasingly drilled
with hours and hours of facts
b. by age 3 could read Plato in Greek
c. was a child prodigy who was clinically depressed by 21
d. Harriet Taylor was the love of his life
e. championed women’s rights
2. mental chemistry
a. complex ideas are more than the sum of simple ideas
b. creative synthesis: a combination of mental elements always
produces some distinct quality
c. his model: research in chemistry rather than physics
d. called his approach to the association of ideas ―mental chemistry‖
3. argued it is possible to study the mind scientifically
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4. proposed the field of ethology, ―devoted to factors that influence the
development of the human personality‖
VII. Contributions of Empiricism to Psychology
A. Methods of approach: atomistic, mechanistic, positivistic
B. Emphases of empiricism
1. primary role of sensation
2. analysis of conscious experience into elements
3. synthesis of elements through association
4. focus on conscious processes
C. Mid-19th century: philosophy augmented by the methods of experimental physiology
Lecture prompts/Discussion topics for chapter two
ï‚· Ask the class to debate some of the big questions in philosophy, such as: What is the
difference between a plant, and animal, and a human? The distinctions seem obvious until
the issue is debated. Much of students’ thinking will likely reflect the debates in
philosophy and psychology, and the animal/human difference will reappear with
psychologists’ use of animals in research later in the course. Other questions are:
o Does every event have a cause?
o Are there types of consciousness?
 How is Babbage’s machine the same as and different from human thinking? Again,
students’ thinking may reflect the discussions that later come up in the course with
cognitive psychology (Turing test, Searle’s Chinese room).
ï‚· Suppose I built a sophisticated automaton that looked very human and could physically
replicate human behavior and physiological systems. What could you do (what tests could
you perform) to determine if a person you are interacting with is a human being or my
automaton? For that matter, what could you do to ―prove‖ that other people have
consciousness (what separates people from sophisticated robots)?
Internet Resources for chapter two
The Ancient Philosophy Society
For those interested in learning about the ancient philosophers, this society provides a
discussion forum for scholars.
Automata: Automata from the 13th to 19th centuries
http://www.museumstuff.com/learn/topics/automata::sub::Automata_From_The_13th_To_19th_
Centuries
Descriptions of automata from the 13th to 19th centuries.
Charles Babbage Institute
http://www.cbi.umn.edu/
This ―is an archives and research center dedicated to preserving the history of information
technology and promoting and conducting research in the field.‖ It has a very nice page of
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extensive information about the life and work of Charles Babbage with links for even
more information.
The Internet Encyclopedia of philosophy
http://www.iep.utm.edu/
This site provides a number of articles about philosophy. It is an encyclopedia in the
truest sense, in that article titles run from A Priori to Slavoj Zizek
The Society for Philosophy and Psychology
http://www.class.uh.edu/cogsci/spp/spphp.html
The purpose of this site is ―to promote interaction between philosophers, psychologists
and other cognitive scientists on issues of common concern.‖
Potential answers to chapter two discussion questions
1) Why was the defecating duck such a sensation in Paris in 1739? What did it have to do
with the development of the new psychology?
The duck could quack, rise up on its legs, stretch out its neck, grab and swallow grain, and
defecate. It was but one example of the advances in technology. Replication of such complex
actions performed by machines was unheard of at the time. At the same time, new machines were
created to assist in daily living and amusement, including the mechanical clock. Such amazing
machines captured the spirit and philosophy of mechanism, which is the idea that all natural
processes can be explained in terms of the natural laws of physics and chemistry. This provided a
way to study human beings using scientific methods.
2) Explain the concept of mechanism. How did it come to be applied to human beings?
Mechanism is the idea that all natural processes can be explained in terms of the natural laws of
physics and chemistry. This provided a way to study human beings using scientific methods,
because this means that all things can be explained using natural laws, including human behavior.
3) How did the development of clocks and automata relate to the ideas of determinism and
reductionism?
Clocks and automata were sensations during seventeenth century Europe, and were built with
amazing variety of size and levels of elaborateness. Their popularity represented the Zeitgeist of
the time, which was mechanism. Mechanism led to the belief that the precision and regularity of
clockworks must also apply to the universe. If true, a clockwork universe, once set in motion by
God, would function continuously and seamlessly without any interference. This set the tone for
determinism, ―the doctrine that acts are determined by past events,‖ as well as reductionism,
attempting to reduce complex phenomena into simpler components.
4) Why were clocks considered to be models for the physical universe?
Clocks are the prototypical example of mechanism in the seventeenth century. They become the
model for the physical universe because of their ―regularity, predictability, and precision.‖ It was
believed that the universe operated under the same laws as do clocks, and could be understood,
like a clock could, if it was reduced to its basic elements (reductionism). It was also believed that
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the universe was predictable, as are clockworks where you can see the cause and effect of all
actions (determinism).
5) What were the implications of Babbage’s calculating engine for the new psychology?
Describe the contributions of Ada Lovelace to Babbage’s work.
Charles Babbage, who was influenced by the automata and clockworks of his day, invented a
mathematical calculator that could also play chess and other games, and had the capacity for an
intermediate memory. It is the direct forerunner of the modern computer and the idea of
―artificial intelligence.‖ One of Babbage’s supporters was Ada Lovelace, a self-educated
mathematician (unusual for her day) who published a description of Babbage’s machine and how
it worked. In this description she also identifies a fundamental difference between a thinking
machine and a human, that is, that a machine cannot create something new, it can only do what it
is programmed to do.
6) How did Descartes’s views on the mind-body issue differ from earlier views?
One of the issues Descartes tackled was the mind-body problem: ―the question of the distinction
between mental and physical qualities.‖ If the mind and body are different, then how do they
interact with each other? Descartes agreed with previous thought that mind and body are
different. Unlike his predecessors who though that mind controlled body, he believed that the
body also controlled the mind to some extent.
7) How did Descartes explain the functioning and interaction of the human body and the
human mind? What is the role of the conarium?
Descartes was a dualist, believing that the mind and body were separate entities. This left him
with the problem of how they interact. He looked to the brain, and saw that structures were
duplicated in each hemisphere, except for the conarium (pineal body). For this reason, he saw
this structure as the vehicle through with the mind and body interact. He believed that nerves
were hollow tubes through which flowed animal spirits, which ―makes an impression on the
conarium and from this impression the mind produces a sensation.‖
8) How did Descartes distinguish between innate ideas and derived ideas?
He believed the mind had two types of ideas; derived ideas, which are ―produced by the direct
application of an external stimulus‖ and innate ideas, which ―arise from the mind or
consciousness, independent of sensory experiences.‖ Descartes identified several ideas that he
believed were innate, such as ―God,
