GENPSYCH PRELIM REVIEWER

Socrates

Idealism

 Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue;

knowledge is the embodiment of good,

whereas ignorance is the

personification of evil. It will lead to

ultimate happiness since it is the

highest virtue. A life that has not been

analyzed isn't worth living.

 The worst thing that can happen to

anyone is to live but die on the inside

because knowing oneself is our

ultimate mission.

 Every man is made up of a body

(imperfect and transient) and a soul

(perfect and permanent). This simply

implies that every human being is

dualistic. He is made up of two distinct

elements of his personality.

Plato

Idealism

 Moral virtue is intellectually grounded

and leads to happiness.

 Knowledge and wisdom lead to virtue,

which leads to happiness.

 The rational soul (intellect), spirited

soul (emotions), and appetitive soul

are the three components of the soul

(desires).

 The way to achieve justice in a human

being is for the three elements of the

soul to operate in unison. When a

person's soul reaches the ideal state, it

becomes just and virtuous.

Augustine

Platonism

 All knowledge leads to God.

 Those who are pure in their heart can

only see God.

 Love and faith in God and

understanding His Gospel will

ultimately lead to happiness.

 An aspect of man stays in the world

and is imperfect and continuously

desires to be with God and others can

reach immortality.

Thomas Aquinas

Idealism,

Empiricism

 Man is made up of two components:

matter and form. The standard material

that makes up everything in the

cosmos is the matter or "hyle" in

Greek. The human body is a

component of this. The essence of

material or entity is referred to as

"morphe" in Greek.

 The soul is what gives meaning to the

body and identifies us as human

beings.

Rene Descartes

Rationalism

 Cogito ergo sum means “I think

therefore I am.”

 The mind and soul can exist without

the body.

 The body is not anything else but a

machine that is connected to the mind.

David Hume

Empiricism

 All knowledge passes through the senses.

 Men can only attain knowledge by experience.

 The self is nothing else but a bundle of impressions. Impressions are the primary objects of our experience or sensation.

Immanuel Kant

Rationalism,

Empiricism

 There is an inner self and an exterior

self. • The inner self contains rational

reasoning and a psychological

condition.

 The outward self is composed of the body and physical mind, where representation occurs.

 The self is more than just a personality trait. It is the place where all human beings acquire information.

Gilbert Ryle

Behaviorism,

Empiricism

 I act; therefore, I am.

 The mind is not the seat of self.

 It is not a separate, parallel thing to our physical body.

 The mind is a category mistake brought about by chronic use. The only way it can affect the other is through the external world.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Phenomenology

 We are our bodies.

 Our bodily experiences do not detach subject/object, mind/body, rational/irrational.

 Our living body, thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one.

Idealism

This is the philosophical belief that reality is fundamentally mental or spiritual. According to idealists, the material world is dependent on the mind or ideas, and it may not exist independently of perception or consciousness. For example, George Berkeley, a key idealist philosopher, argued that objects only exist when perceived. Thus, reality is shaped by the mind’s perceptions and ideas.

Platonism

A form of idealism associated with the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Platonism suggests that abstract concepts, such as numbers, beauty, and justice, exist independently of human minds. Plato’s "Theory of Forms" argues that the physical world is a mere shadow of an eternal, unchanging realm of perfect forms. For example, the physical chair we see is merely an imperfect copy of the ideal “Form of a chair.”

Empiricism

This is the theory that all knowledge comes from sensory experience. Empiricists argue that humans gain knowledge through their senses (sight, touch, hearing, etc.), and that without sensory input, we wouldn’t have any understanding of the world. Philosophers like John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume are famous proponents of empiricism. For example, if you touch a hot stove, your sensory experience of pain leads you to know that the stove is hot.

Rationalism

In contrast to empiricism, rationalism emphasizes reason as the primary source of knowledge. Rationalists believe that there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are independent of sensory experience. Key figures include René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza. An example of rationalism is the belief that mathematical truths (like 2 + 2 = 4) are known through reason, not through experience.

Behaviorism

A psychological theory that emphasizes the study of observable behavior, rather than internal mental states. Behaviorists argue that behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment and can be measured and controlled. Key figures include B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson. For example, a behaviorist might study how a person reacts to rewards and punishments rather than examining their inner thoughts.

Phenomenology

A philosophical approach that emphasizes the study of conscious experience from the first-person perspective. Founded by Edmund Husserl, phenomenology explores how things appear to consciousness, and how these experiences are structured. It seeks to describe the "essence" of experiences, without presupposing theories about the world. For instance, a phenomenologist might focus on how we experience "time" or "space" in a purely subjective sense, without jumping to conclusions about their objective nature.