HisPhil Lec 4 - Philosophy and Movements

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from a philosophy and psychology lecture, focusing on mind-body dualism, philosophical movements, language acquisition, and schools of thought in psychology.

Monism

The belief that there is only either 'mind' or 'body'.

Dualism

The belief that both mind and body exist simultaneously.

Materialism

The view that reality is fundamentally physical in nature, and everything, including the mind, can be reduced to biological and biochemical activity.

Mentalism

Also known as immaterialism or subjective idealism, it posits that reality only exists in the mind.

Ludwig Feuerbach

A philosopher who stated, 'You are what you eat,' aligning with Materialism.

Bishop George Berkeley

A philosopher known for 'To be is to be perceived / Objects cannot exist without being perceived,' aligning with Mentalism.

Rene Descartes

A philosopher who believed that both body and mind exist, and famously stated, 'I think before I am.'

Interactionism

The concept that the body and mind interact with each other.

Noam Chomsky's Nativism

Language is an innate faculty of the mind; the idea that something inside our heads makes it possible to learn languages through a language acquisition device.

Critical/Sensitive Period

A time period in development when specific skills or abilities are most easily acquired.

Structuralism

Edward Titchener/Wilhem Wundt: Breaking down experience into basic elements to understand the structure of consciousness.

Functionalism

William James: Focuses on the purpose and function of behavior and mental processes, rather than their structure.

Stream of Consciousness

Can’t just freeze/divide current thoughts to analyse them into little building blocks. There is a continuous arrival of new thoughts that must interfere.

Gestalt Movement

Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Köhler: Emphasizes perceiving the whole rather than individual parts.

Perceptual Organization

The way something is organized can affect how we perceive something