Essay \"Briefly demonstrate how descartes had an impact on psychology\" PDF

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Briefly demonstrate how Descartes had an impact on psychology...

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Briefly demonstrate how Descartes had an impact on psychology French mathematician, philosopher and physiologist Rene Descartes was the first to offer first to offer a systematic account of the mind and body relationship. Descartes argued that knowledge gained through the senses could deceived by an evil demon. His quote cogito ergo sum, or ‘I think, therefore I am’, (which claims that doubling about one’s existence proves that one exists), led to his separation of mind and body. Before this revelation, scientists in the early 1600s used to view the mind and body as one entity. Descartes used the distinction of two worlds to describe the mind and body relationship: the objective world and subjective world. The objective world is made up of atoms (corpuscles) which allow researchers to measure objects. Whereas, in the subjective world only the soul and mind exist; and it cannot be measured nor quantified like the body. The mind and soul receive sensations from the body, which is controlled by these two inner functions through the pineal gland (involved with perceptions, sensation and the causation of bodily movements (Reiter, 1981). This is known as Cartesian dualism (Schultz et al 2013). Cartesian dualism therefore claims that conscious experience of reality can be misleading and that truth can only be discovered through thought in the subjective world. Humans do not see the external world directly, but only as a projection on a physical screen (pineal gland) (Dennet, 1999). Descartes has had a major influence on cognitive psychology as he made consciousness the forefront of psychological thinking before the rise of behaviourism. He encouraged the importance of mental activity by suggesting that doubting is a mental process. He also encouraged new methods of studying the mind such as Wundt’s introspection and therefore the first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany. Furthermore, Descartes’s separation of mind and arguing that they interact through the pineal gland in the brain influenced new ways of studying brain function and how it impacts the body (e.g. FMRI, PET and EEG). However, research using such methods has also shown that brain damage can influence thought; therefore showing that mind/body are more closely connected than Descartes had originally thought. He also transformed the way psychologists perceive knowledge acquisition by arguing that perception of the objective, external world is an illusion and true knowledge can only be found through human consciousness (mind). Descartes refers to his wax analogy to support this view, in that humans tend to perceive wax in its solid form with a scent through our senses. Yet when the wax has melted, people still refer to its changed properties as wax due to intellect (mind). Critics such as princess Elizabeth of Bohemia (1643) disagreed with Descartes’ view and instead argued that it would not be possible for something as immaterial as the mind and soul to interact or control the body. Similarly, Farell (1996) argued that Descartes’ methodological scepticism (being sceptical about the truth one’s beliefs) influences paranoia over knowledge in the external world.

To conclude, Descartes’ interactive dualism has led a long-lasting effect on psychology and is still prominent in modern psychology and society as many people tend to perceive the mind and body as separate by using expressions such as ‘mind over matter’ (Fancher et al, 2012)....