Empiricism, Sensationalism, and Positivism

Flashcards on Empiricism, Sensationalism, and Positivism.

Empiricism

The belief that knowledge is derived from experience.

Experience (in Empiricism)

Includes inner experiences such as dreams, imaginings, fantasies, and emotions.

Empiricism (D.N. Robinson's Definition)

The epistemology that asserts that the evidence of sense constitutes the primary data of all knowledge.

Sensory Experience

The means by which empiricism asserts that all meaningful knowledge about the world is acquired

Rationalism

The philosophy contrasting empiricism, arguing that some knowledge is innate or derived from reason independently of experience.

Tabula Rasa

Locke's metaphor for the mind as a blank slate, filled through experience.

Induction

Generalizing from specific observations to form broader principles, a key aspect of empiricism.

Thomas Hobbes

British Empiricist influenced by Galileo, believed everything operates like a machine.

Materialism (Hobbes)

The belief that everything in the universe, including human thought and emotion, is composed of matter in motion.

Cartesian Dualism (Rejection by Hobbes)

Descartes' idea of a separate mind and body, rejected by Hobbes in favor of materialism.

Appetite (Hobbes)

Desire for pleasure/self-preservation, a motivator in Hobbes' view of human nature.

Aversion (Hobbes)

Avoidance of pain/death, a motivator in Hobbes' view of human nature.

Associationism (Hobbes)

Complex thoughts arise from the association of sensory impressions.

Mental Computation (Hobbes)

Reasoning as a form of adding and subtracting ideas.

John Locke

British Empiricist who argued against innate ideas; all knowledge comes from sensation and reflection.

Sensation (Locke)

External experience via senses, a source of knowledge according to Locke.

Reflection (Locke)

Internal mental operations, like thinking and remembering, a source of knowledge according to Locke.

Consciousness (Locke)

The basis of personal identity, over the soul or body.

George Berkeley

Advanced empiricism & idealism, arguing all knowledge derives from perception and reality consists of minds and their experiences.

Esse est percipi (Berkeley)

"To be is to be perceived", Berkeley's view that reality consists solely of minds and experiences.

Theory of Vision (Berkeley)

Depth perception is learned, not innate which we judge through visual cues and tactile experience.

Mental Association (Berkeley)

The mind connects ideas through experience and habit.

David Hume

Argued all knowledge stems from experience (impressions and ideas).

Impressions (Hume)

Sensory input, in Hume's theory of knowledge.

Ideas (Hume)

Faint copies of impressions, in Hume's theory of knowledge.

Resemblance (Hume)

Portrait makes us think of a person (law of association).

Contiguity (Hume)

Thunder reminds us of lightning (law of association).

Cause/Effect (Hume)

A wound recalls pain (law of association).

David Hartley

Proposed that all mental activity arises from sensory experiences linked by association through vibration in the brain

Vibratiuncles (Hartley)

Tiny vibrations in the brain, forming memory traces.

Association (Hartley)

Simple sensations combine into complex ideas through repetition and proximity.

James Mill

Expanded David Hartley’s theories, arguing that all mental processes stem from linked sensations and ideas.

Greatest Happiness Principle

Bentham's principle co-developed by James Mill, applied to education and governance.

John Stuart Mill

Expanded his father's ideas but emphasized human agency over mechanical determinism.

Higher Pleasures (J.S. Mill)

Intellect and morality

Lower Pleasures (J.S. Mill)

Base instincts

Harm Principle (J.S. Mill)

The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised is to prevent harm to others.

Alexander Bain

Bridged philosophy and experimental science, establishing psychology as a distinct discipline.

Psychophysical Parallelism (Bain)

Mental and bodily events occur together but don’t causally interact.

The Senses and the Intellect

One of the Comprehensive psychology textbook written by Alexander Bain

Sensationalism

The epistemological theory that all knowledge originates from sensory experience.

Pierre Gassendi

Reintroduced ancient Greek atomism into early modern science.

Simulacra (Gassendi)

Sensory organs transmit atomic 'images' to the brain, forming perceptions.

Positivism

A philosophical system that emphasizes empirical evidence, scientific methods, and the rejection of metaphysics.

Auguste Comte

Coined the term positivism and proposed the Law of Three Stages.

Law of Three Stages (Comte)

Human thought evolves through theological, metaphysical, and positive/scientific stages.

Social Physics

Sociology as a science created by Auguste Compte