PSY 325: LEC 10 Cognitive Perspective 10-1

What does cognitive psychology refer to?

the study of the mind as an information processing system. It examines the following: attention, concentration, memory, thinking, problem-solving, and language activity.

In contrast, what does the cognitive personality theory derive with?

from the work of the stoic philosophers

What did the stoic philosophers believe?

that one could control one’s emotions (and therefore pain and suffering) by controlling one’s thoughts about events. 

Who were the two major stoic philosophers of cognitive psychology?

Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius

According to stoic philosophy, what does it hold?

Holds we cannot control events in the world, but we can control our thoughts about them.

According to stoic philosophy, what is the thinking of it?

that something is bad or good that causes the emotional response.

Who is stoic philosophy picked up by?

Shakespeare who in several plays has characters say: “Nothing is bad or good, but thinking makes it so”.

What did stoic philosophy believe in?

that if we allowed the good, it would make us vulnerable to the bad.

What does stoicism refer to?

refers to forbearance and lack of emotion in the face of events.

According to stoic philosophy, epictetus did what

he was an educated and cultured Greek slave in Rome

According to stoic philosophy, Epictetus was an adherent to what?

stoic philosophy and a stoic philosopher.

According to stoic philosophy, what was Epictetus approach to life?

epitomizes the stoic approach as recorded in the following event.

One day Epictetus’s master was tightening his leg irons, and Epictetus told him: “If you continue to tighten the iron you will break my leg”.

The master continued to tighten the iron until his leg was broken.

true

Epictetus looked at his master and said: “I told you that if you continued to tighten the iron you would break my leg”.

The statement was absent any interpretation and or resulting emotion.

true

According to stoic philosophy, who was Marcus Aurelius considered as?

considered the last of the five good Roman emperors (ruled 161-180 AD) and a stoic philosopher.

According to stoic philosophy, what was Marcus Aurelius was constantly battling with?

enemies to the north and east of the empire, his wife was reportedly cheating on him in Rome while he was away at war, and his son Commodus was reportedly extravagant, dissolute and troublesome.

who wrote meditations and what was it?

Marcus Aurelius wrote Meditations which are insights into life, thought, emotion, and dealing with adversity, which he knew very well, from a stoic perspective.

What did meditations provided insight into?

•Western thinking and understanding before the advent of a pervasive Judeo-Christian influence.  The seeds of modern Western psychology are already present. 

According to selected meditations, get rid of the judgement; you are rid of the “I am hurt”; get rid of the “I am hurt”, you are rid of the hurt itself.

true

According to selected meditations, the cucumber is bitter? Put it down.  There are brambles in the path? Step to one side.  That is enough without asking: “Why did these things come into the world at all?”

true