1) Why study the history of psychology?

1) Perspective As We have seen, ideas are seldom, if ever, born fullblown. Rather they
typrcally develop over a long period of time. Seeing ideas in their historical perspective
allows the student to more fully appreciate the subject matter of modern psychology.
However, viewing the problems and questions currently dealt with in psychology as
manifestations of centuriesold problems and questions is humbling and sometimes
frustrating. After all, if psychology’s problems have been worked on for centuries, should
they not be solved by now? Conversely, knowing that our current studies have been shared
and contributed to by some of the greatest minds in human history is exciting.

Deeper Understanding With greater perspective comes deeper understanding. Withf a

knowledge of history, the student need not take on faith the importance of the , subject
matter of modern psychology. A student with a historical awareness knows where
psychology’s subject matter came from and why it is considered important Just as we gain a
greater understanding of a person’s current behavior by learning more about that person’s
past experiences, so do we gain a greater understanding of current psychology by studying
its historical origins.

Recognition of Fads and Fashions While studying the history of psychology, one is often
struck by the realization that a viewpoint does not always fade away because it is incorrect;
rather, some viewpoints disappear simply because they become unpopular. What is popular
in psychology varies with the Zeitgeist. For example, when psychology first emerged as a
science, the emphasis was on “pure” science that is, on the gaining of knowledge without
any concern for its usefulness. Later 6o when Darwin’s theory became popular, psychology
shifted its attention to human processes that were related to(survival r that allowed humans
to live more effective lives. Today, one major emphasis in psychology is on cognitive
processes, and that emphasis is due, in part, to recent advances in computer technology.
Studying the field’s successes and mistakes, alongside today’s emerging findings, teaches
students how to think critically about psychology, they say. Psychology history also
demonstrates how the field began and developed in response to modern culture, politics,
economics and current events.Psychology is defined as “the scientific study of behavior and
mental processes”. Philosophical interest in the human mind and behavior dates back to the
ancient civilizations of Egypt, Persia, Greece, China, and India.Psychology is a relatively
young science with its experimental roots in the 19th century, compared, for example, to
human physiology, which dates much earlier. As mentioned, anyone interested in exploring
issues related to the mind generally did so in a philosophical context prior to the 19th
century

2) A combination of rationalism and empiricism

2)What makes science such a powerful tool is that it combines two ancient methods of
attaining knowledge: rationalism and empiricism, The rationalist believes that mental
operations or principles must be employed before knowledge can be attained. For example,
the rationalist says that the validity or invalidity of certain propositions can be determined
by carefully applying the rules of logic, The empiricist maintains that the source of all
knowledge is sensory observation. True knowledge therefore can be derived Nfrom or
validated only by sensory experience. After centuries of inquiry, it was discovered that by
themselves rationalism and empiricism had limited usefulness. Science combined the two
positions, and knowledge has been accumulating at an exponential rate ever since. The
rational aspect of science keeps it from being a way of collecting an endless array of
disconnected empirical facts. Because the scientist must somehow make sense out of what
he or she observes, theories are formulated. A scientific theory has two_main functions:(1)
It organizes empirical observations, and (2) it acts as a guide for future observations. The
latter function of a scientific theory generates what Stevens refers to as confirmable
propositions.In other words, a theory suggests propositions that are tested experimentally.
If the propositions generated by a theory are confirmed through experimentation, the
theory gains strength; if the propositions are not confirmed by experimentation, the theory
loses strength. If the theory generates too many erroneous propositions, it must be either
revised or abandoned. Thus, scientific theories must be testable. That is, they must
generate hypotheses that can be validated or invalidated empirically.In science, then, the
direct observation of, nature is important, but such obseryaţion is often guided by theory.

3) Deťerminism, indeterminism and no determinism

3) Determinism. Scientifically oriented psychologists are willing to assume determinism

when studying humans. Although all determinists believe that all behavior is caused, there
are different types of determinism. Biological determinism emphasizes the importance of
physiological conditions or genetic predispositions in the explanation of behavior. For
example, sociobiologists claim that the master motive for human behavior (as well as that
of nonhuman animals) is to perpetuate copies of one's genes into the next generation.
Much human behavior, say the sociobiologists, is derived ffom this genetically determined
motive. Environmental determinism stresses the importance of environmental stimuli as
determinants of behavior. The following illustrates the type of determinism that places the
cause of human behavior in the environment: Behavior -theory emphasizes that
environmental events play the key role in determining human behavior. The source of action
lies not inside the person, but in the environment. By developing a full understanding of
how environmental events influence behavior, we will arrive at a complete understanding of
behavior.It is this feature of behavior theory--its emphasis on environmental events as the
determinants of human action-which most clearly sets it apart from other approaches to
human nature.

Indeterminism. Some psychologists believe that humanbehavioris determined but that the
causes of behavior cannot be accurately measured. This belief reflects an acceptance of
Heisenberg's uncertainty princinle. The German physicist Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901-
1976) found that the very act of observing an electron influences its activity and casts doubt
on the validity of the observation. Heisenberg concluded that nothing can ever be known
with certainty in science. Translated into psychology, this principle says that, although
human behavior is indeed determined, we can never learn at least some causes of behavior
because in attempting to observe them we change them.In this way, the experimental
setting itself may act as a confounding variable in the search for the causes of human
behavior. Psychologists who accept this viewpoint believe that there are specific causes of
behavior but that they cannot be accurately known. Such aposition is called indeterminism.
Another example of indeterminacy is Immanuel Kant's (1724- 1804) conclusion that a
science of psychology is impossible because the mind could not be objectively employed to
study itself. MacLeod (1975) summarized Kant's position as follows: Kant challenged the
very basis of a science of psychology.

Nondeterminism. Some psychologists completely reject science as a way of studying

humans. These psychologists, usually working within either a humanistic or an existential,
paradigm, believe that the most important causes of behavior are self-generated. For this
group, behavior is freely chosen and thus independent of physical or psychical causes. This
belief in free will is contrary to the assumption of determinism, and therefore the endeavors
of these psychologists are nonscientific. Such a position is known as nondeterminism. For
the nondeterminists, because the individual freely chooses courses of action he or she
alone is responsible for them.

4) Persistent questions in psychology

4)The questions that psychology is now attempting to answer are_often the same questions
it has been trying to answer from its inception.In many cases only the methods for dealing
with these persistent questions have changed. We have already encountered one of
psychology's persistent questions: Is human behavior freely chosen or is it determined? In
the following section we review additional persistent questions and, in so doing, preview
much of what will be covered in the remainder of this text. What Is the Nature of Human
Nature?A theory of human nature attempts to specify what is universally true about
humans. That is, it attempts to specify what all humans are equipped with at birth. One
question of interest here is how much of our prehuman heritage remains in human nature.
For example, are we inherently aggressive? Yes, say the Freudians. Is human nature basically
good and nonviolent? Yes, say members of the humanistic camp, such as Rogers and
Maslow. Or is our nature-neither good nor bad but neutral, as the behaviorists such as
atsop and Skinner claim? The behaviorists maintain that experience makes a person good or
Bad or whatever. Do humans possess a free will? Yes, say the existential psychologists; no,
say the scientifically oriented psychologists. Associated with each of psychology's paradigms
is an assumption about the nature of human nature, and each assumption has a long
history. Throughout this text we sample these o conceptions about human nature and the
methodologies they generate. How Are the_Mind-and the Body Related? The question of
whether there is a mind and, if so, howit is related to the body is as old as psychology itself.
Every psychologist must addfess this question either explicitly or implicitly. Through the
years, almost every conceivable position has been taken on the mind-body relationship.
Some psychologists attempt to explain everything in physical terms For them,even so called
mental events are ultimately explained by the laws of physics or chemistry. These
individuals are called materialists because they believe that matter is the only reality, and
therefore everything in the universe, including the behavior of organisms must be explained
in terms of matter. They are also called monists because they attempt to explain everything
in terms of one type of reality- matter. Other psychologists take the opposite extreme,
saying that even the so-called physical world consists of ideas. These individuals are called
idealists, and they too are monists because they attempt to explain everything in terms of
consciousness

5)Empiricism, Thomas Hobes and John Locke

5) Simply put, empiricism is the idea that all learning comes from only experience and
observations. The term empiricism comes from the Greek word for experience: empeiria.
The theory of empiricism attempts to explain how human beings acquire knowledge and
improve their conceptual understanding of the world. Empiricism is the belief that
knowledge is based on experience. The most well-known of these empiricist philosophers is
ohn Locke, who is known as a classical empiricist. A major part of his argument was that
newborns are a tabula rasa, or blank slate, and Experiences are what give these children
knowledge. Empiricism, in philosophy, the view that all concepts originate in experience,
that all concepts are about or applicable to things that can be experienced, or that all
rationally acceptable beliefs or propositions are justifiable or knowable only through
experience Thomas Hobbes Although he followed in the tradition of William of Occam and
Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is often referred to as the founder of British
empiricism,

Humans as machines Hobbes did not become serious about psychology and phtlosophy
until the age of 40, when he came across a copy of Euclid’s Elements. This book convinced
him that humans could be understood using the techniques of geometry. That is, starting
with a few undeniable premises a number of undeniable conclusions could be drawn. The
question was what premises to begin with, and the answer came from Galileo. After visiting
Galileo in 1635, Hobbes became convinced ethat the universe consisted only of matter and
motion and that both could be understood in terms of mechanistic principles. Are not
humans part of nature wondered Hobbes, and if so, cannot their behavior also be explained
as matter in motion? This became the self-evident truth that Hobbes needed to apply the
deductive method of geometry: Humans were machines. Humans were viewed as machines
functioning within a larger machine the universe): “For seeing life is but motion of limbs. For
what is the heart but a spring; and the nerves but so many strings; and the joints but so
many wheels, giving motion to the whole body” Government protects humans from thejr
own destryctive instincts. Hobbes’s primary interest was politics. He was thoroughly
convinced that the best form of government was an absolute monarchy! He believed that
humans were innately aggressive, selfish, and greedy\ therefor e democracy was dangerous
because it gives too much latitude to these negatíve natural tendencies. Only when people
and the church are subservient to a monarch, he felt, could there be law and order. Without
such regulation, human life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” Hobbes’s
infamous conclusion homo homini lupus (man is a wolf to man) was later quoted
sympathetically by Schopenhauer and by Freud (see chapter 16). It is, according to Hobbes,
fear of death that motivates humans to create social order.In other words, civilization is
created as a matter of self-defense; each of us must be discouraged.from-committing crimes
against the other

Hobbes’s empiricism. Although Hobbes rejected Bacon’s inductive method in favor of the
deductive method, he did agree with Bacon on the importance of sensory experience: The
[origin of all thoughts] is that which we can sense, for there is no conception in a man’s
mind, which hath not at first,totally,or by parts,been be gotten upon the organs of
sense.There stare derived from that original. Although Hobbes accepted Descartes’s
deductive method, he rejected his concept of innate ideas. For Hobbes, all ideas came from
experience or, more specifically, from sensory experience.

John Locke: Although Hobbes was clearly ‘an empiricist, it was Locke who influenced most
of the subsequent British empiricists. For example,most of the British empiricists followed
Locke in accepting a mind-body dualism; that is,they rejected Hobbes’s physical monism.
Whereas Hobbes equated mental images with the motions in the brain that were caused by
external motions acting on the sense receptors,Locke was content to say that somehow
sensory stimulation caused ideas. Early in the Essay, Locke washed his hands of the question
as to how something physical could-cause-something mental-it just did.

Opposition to innate ideas. Locke’s Essay was, in part, a protest against Descartes’s
philosophy. It_was not Descartes’s dualism that Locke attacked, but his notion of innate
ideas. Locke observed that if the mind contained innate ideas then all humans should have
those ideas, and clearly they do not. Humans, he said, are not born with /l any innate ideas
whether they be moral, theological, logical, or mathematical. Sensation and reflection. For
Locke,an idea was simply a mental image that could be employed while thinking:
“Whatsoever the mind perceives in itself,or is the immediate object of perception,
thought,or understanding,that I call idea”. For Locke,all ideas come from either sensation or
reflection. That is,ideas result either by direct sensory stimulation or by reflection on the
remnants of prior sensory stimulation. Reflection,the second fountain of knowledge
referred to in the preceding quotation,is-the mind’s ability to reflect on itself.

Simple and_complex ideas: Simple ideas, whether from sensation or reflection, constitute
the atoms (corpuscles) of experience because they cannot be divided or analyzed further
into other ideas. Complex ideas, however, are composites of simple ideas and therefore can
be analyzed into their component parts (simple ideas). When the operations of the mind
are applied to simple ideas through reflection, complex ideas are formed. That is, through
such operations as comparing, remembering, discriminating, combining and enlarging,
abstracting, and reasoning, simple ideas are combined into complex ones .
Emotions. locke maintained that the feelings of pleasure or pain accompany both simple
and complex ideas. He believed that the other passions (emotions)--such as love, desire, joy,
hatred, sorrow, anger, fear, despair, envy, shame, and hope-- were all derived from the two
basic feelings of pleasure and pain. Things that cause pleasure are good, and things that
cause pain are evil. For Locke, the "greatest good" was the freedom to think pleasurable
thoughts. Like Hobbes, his theory of humar motivation was hedonistic because it
maintained that humans are motivated by the search for pleasure and the avoidance of
pain. For Locke, then, the information that the senses provided was the stuff the mind
thought about and had emotional reactions toward.

6) British Empricisim

6)An empiricist is anyone who believes that knowledge is derived from experience. The
importance of experience is usually stressed instead of innate ideas, which are supposed to
emerge independently of experience. Empiricism, then, is a philosophy that stresses the
importance of experience in the attainment of knowledge. The term experience, in the
definition of empiricism, complicates matters because there are nany types of experience.
There are "inner" experiences such as dreams, imaginings fantasies, and a variety of
emotions. Also, when one thinks logically, such as during mathematical deduction, one is
having vivid, mental (inner) experiences.It has become general practice, however, to exclude
inner experience from a definition of empiricism and to refer exclusively to sensory
experience. However, even after focusing on sensory experience, there is still a problem in
the definition of empiricism because it is implied that any philosopher who claims sensory
experience to be important in attaining knowledge can be labeled an empiricist. If this were
true, even Descartes could be called an empiricist because, for him, many ideas came from
sensory experience. Thus acknowledging the importance of sensory experience alone does
not qualify one as an empiricist. Before discussing what does qualify one as an empiricist,
an additional source of confusion surrounding the term empiricism must be mentioned.In
psychology, empiricism is often contrasted with mentalism; this is a mistake, however,
because most modern empiricists were also mentalistic.In fact their main research tool was
introspection and their main goal was to explain mental phenomena (ideas).

7)French Sensationalism

7)French philosophers were also aspiring to be Newtonians of the mind, and they had much
in common with their British counterparts. The French Newtonians of the mind have been
referred to as naturalists, mechanists, empiricists, materialists, and sensationalists. All the
French and British philosophers considered in this chapter had these goals in common. We
refer to the French philosophers as "sensationalists" because some of them intentionally
stressed the importance of sensations in explaining all conscious experience and because
the label provides a convenient way of distinguishing between the British and the French
philosophers.In general, however, the French and the British philosophers were more
similar than they were different. Besides both being influenced by Newton, they both
strongly opposed the rationalism of Descartes, especially his beliefs in innate ideas and in an
autonomous mind. All ideas, said both the British empiricists and the French sensationalists,
came from experience, and most if not all mental activity could be explained by the laws of
association acting on those ideas. The question asked by both the British empiricists and the
French sensationalists was, If everything else in the universe can be explained in terms of
mechanical laws, why should not humans too obey those laws? Although the metaphor of
human beings as machines was suggested by the work of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and
Newton, it was further stimulated by Descartes Descartes's dualistic conception of humans
meant that our bodies act according to mechanical principles (our bodies are machines) but
our minds do not. Without the autonomous mind that Descartes had postulated, however,
humans were equated with nonhuman animals, and both could be understood as
machines.It was this metaphor of humans as machines that especially appealed to the
French sensationalists. Sensationalism may rely on reports about generally insignificant
matters and portray them as a major influence on society, or biased presentations of
newsworthy topics, in a trivial, or tabloid manner, contrary to general assumptions of
professional journalistic standards.

8) Positivism

8) According to Comte the only thing we can be sure of is that which is publicly observable-
that is, sense experiences that can be shared with other individuals. The data of science are
publicly observable and therefore can be trusted. For example, scientific laws are
statements about how empirical events vary together, and once determined, they can be
experienced by any interested party. Comte's insistence on equating knowledge with
empirical observations was called positivism According to Comte, science should seek to
discover the lawful relationships among physical phenomena. Once such laws are known
they can be used to predict and control events and thus improve life. One of Comte's
favorite slogans was "know in order to predict" (Esper, 1964, p. 213). Comte's approach to
science was very much like the one suggested earlier by Francis Bacon. According to both
Comte and Bacon, science should be practical and nonspeculative. Comte told his readers
that there are two types of statements: "One refers to the objects of sense, and it is a
scientific statement. The other is nonsense"

With the widespread success of science, some people believed that science could, solve all
problems and answer all questions. Such a belief was called scientism, and it was very much
like a religious belief. Accepting scientism, Comte created a position called positivism,
according to which only scientific information could be considered valid. Anything not
publicly observable was suspect and was rejected as a proper bbject of study. Comte
suggested that cultures progress through three stages in their attempt to explain
phenomena: the theological, the metaphysical, and the scientific Comte did not believe
psychology could become a science because studying the minc required using the unreliable
method of introspection. People, he said, could be objectively studied by observing their
overt behavior or through phrenological analysis. Years following Comte, Mach proposed
another type of positivism based or the phenomenological experiences of scientists. For
Mach, the job of the scientist is to precisely describe the relationships among cognitive
events. Mach's brand of positivism allowed (even depended on) introspective analysis;
Comte's did not. Like Comte, Mach wanted to rid science of metaphysical speculation

14) The first philosophers

14) Thales: As noted in chapter 1, seldom, if ever, is an idea born full-blown within a single
individual. Thales, often referred to as the first philosopher, had a rich, intellectual heritage.
Thales was important because he emphasized natural explanations and minimized
supernatural ones. That is, in his cosmology Thales said that things in the universe consist of
natural substances and are governed by natural principles; they do not reflect the whims of
the gods. The universe is therefore knowable and within the realm of human
understanding .

Anaxjmander (ca. 610-540 B.Q), who studied with Thales, argued that even water was a
compound of more basicmaterial. (Notice that Anaximander took the advice of his teacher
and criticized him.) According to Anaximander, the physis was something, that had the
capability of becoming anything. This something he called the “boundless” or the
‘indefinite.” Anaximander alsó proposed a rudimentary theory of evolution. From a mixture
of hot water and earth, there arose fish. Because human infants cannot survive without a
long period of protection, the f irst human infants grew inside these fish until puberty at
which time the carrier fish burst and humans that were developed enough to survive on
their own emerged. Ahaximander urged us not to eat f ish because they are, in a sense, our
mothers and fathers. We can see how the physical environment can influence one’s
philosophizing.

Heraclitus Impressed by the fact that everything in nature seemed to be in a constant state
of flux, or change, Heraclitus (ca. 540-480 B.C.) assumed fire to be the physis because in the
presence of fire everything is transformed into something else. To Heraclitus, the
overwhelming fact about the world was that nothing ever “is”; rather, everything is
“becoming.” Nothing is either hot or cold but is becoming hotter C or colder; nothing is fast
or slow but is becoming faster or slower. Heraclitus’s position is summarized in his famous
statement: “No man steps into the same river twice." He meant that the river becomes
something other than what it was when it was first stepped into

Pythagoras: Largely through his influence on Plato, Pythagoras (ca. 580-500 B.C.) has had a
significant influence on Western thought, It is said that Pythagoras was the first to employ
the term philosophy and to refer to himself as a philosopher. Pythagoras postulated that the
basicexplanation for everything in the universe was found in numbers and in numerical
relationships. He noted that the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle is exactly
equal to the sum of the squares of its other two sides. Although this came to be called the
Pythagorean theorem, it had probably been known to the Babylonians. Pythagoras also
observed that a harmonious blending of tone results when one string on a lyre is exactly
twice as long as another. 15) Plato's ideas

15)Plato believed well-being, happiness, high-virtue, and right moral action the epitome of
ethical practice and life. Concept of the soul - believed the soul is imprisoned in the body,
attempting to break free into the ideal Form. Ideas are substances as they are the ultimate
realities of the world . Ideas are eternal because they exist beyond space and time. Ideas
exist prior to particular things and apart from them. Ideas are many in number. The theory
of Forms or theory of Ideas is a philosophical theory, concept, or world-view, attributed to
Plato, that the physical world is not as real or true as timeless, absolute, unchangeable
ideas.It is most of all from Plato that we get the theory of Forms, according to which the
world we know through the senses is only an imitation of the pure, eternal, and unchanging
world of the Forms. Plato devoted his life to one "goal: helping people reach a state of
fulfillment. To this day, his ideas remain deeply relevant, provocative, and fascinating.
Philosophy, to Plato, was a tool to help us change the world. Plato believed that reality is
divided into two parts: the ideal and the phenomena. The ideal is the perfect reality of
existence. The phenomena are the physical world that we experience; it is a flawed echo of
the perfect, ideal model that exists outside of space and time

16) Skepticism and Cynicism

16) Skepticism also spelled scepticism, in Western philosophy, the attitude of doubting
knowledge claims set forth in various areas. Skeptics have challenged the adequacy or
reliability of these claims by asking what principles they are based upon or what they
actually establish. A variety of skepticism that denies we can have knowledge of objects that
exist independently of our experiences of them. An external-world skeptic may gladly admit
that you know for example, that you are having an experience of a dog, but will deny that
you can know on that basis that the dog actually exists. Skepticism is the act of suspending
judgment (the opposite of jumping to conclusions) when evaluating an explanation or
claims.It allows scientists to consider all possibilities and systematically question all
information in the course of an investigation. Socrates was one of the first religious skeptics,
questioning the legitimacy of the beliefs of his time in the existence of the various gods,
which in part led to his trial and execution. Metaphysical Skepticism is a type of local
skepticism which denies any metaphysical knowledge. Using skeptical arguments to
generate fear, uncertainty and doubt in order to achieve some goal. For example, a young
politician who asks an older opponent to prove that they are healthy in order to sow doubts
around the candidate’s health and create fears they may have health issues in office.
Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of “others”. A cynic
may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed,
gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic perceives as vain unobtainable, or
ultimately meaningless. Making negative assumptions where there are unknowns. For
example, imagining that people you have just met are terrible people. Today, cynicism refers
to doubt or disbelief in the professed motives, sincerity, and goodness of others, and, by
extension, in social and ethical norms and values. This attitude is often accompanied by
mistrust, scorn, and pessimism about others and humanity as a whole .

17 Epicureanism and Stoicism

17)Ebicureanism, which comes-from ancient Greek philosophy, is a focus on the importance

of pteasure. If you devote yourself to going to the symphony and eating fine foods, it’s
because of your epicureanism. The philosopher Epicurus developed his ideas as a challenge
to Plato. Although today this word is colloquially used to mean reveling in excessive
pleasurable activity, that’s not the way Epicurus described his philosophy.In fact, he
emphasized the importance of a simple life and quiet pleasures. Classical epicureanism was
all about the absence of pain and fear, rather than eating an entire chocolate cake while
lying in a hammock. Epicurus asserted that philosophy’s purpose is to attain as well as to
help others attain happy (eudaimonic), tranquil lives characterized by ataraxia (peace and
freedom from fear) and aponia (the absence of pain)

Epicureanism is an ancient greek philosophical system founded by Epicurus in the 4th

century B.C.E. After Epicurus’ death, Epicureanism became one of two major schools of
thought in the Greek world, alongside Stoicism. Along with the more analytic side of the
philosophy dealing with the nature of the universe matter, and the soul, Epicureanism, like
Stoicism, included many practical recommendations as to how to live a good life,
Epicureanism is best known for its theory of value, namely that humans are ultimately
driven by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain and that a good life is a
pleasurable life. In this view, there is no objective value system that exists independently
from human experience. For Epicureans, all human action is motivated by pleasure and
pain.In cases where this seems untrue, it is simply because what humans find pleasurable or
painful is differs greatly amongst people and isn’t always obvious

For Epicurus, there are different types of desires, with different qualities of pleasures
associated with their fulfillment. There are natural necessary desires, like the desire for
water, food, sleep etc., which cannot be eliminated, but can usually be fulfilled with relative
ease. Epicureanism holds the same to be true of passionate love and sex and marriage is
discouraged. If we come to constantly need the best food, or beds, or entertainment, or sex,
it leaves a much greater chance that we can’t have those things.In that case we are left with
unfulfilled desires, which cause us pain. Friendship is strongly recommended by Epicurus
who-apparently said “Friendship dances around the world bidding us all to awaken to the
recognitionof happiness.’

Stoicism is-a school of philosophy that hails from ancient Greece and Rome in the early parts
of-the 3rd century, BC, It is a philosophy of life that maximizes positive emotions, reduces
negative emotions and helps individuals to hone their virtues of character. Stoic Ưh defined
as one who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain;
seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or unaffected by emotional escalation.
Stoicism has been a common thread though some of history’s great leaders.It has been
practiced by Kings, presidents, artists, writers and entrepreneurs. Life. Stoicism can be
epitomized by three essential beliefs: (1) that virtue is sufficient for happiness, (2) that other
so-called goods should be regarded with indifference, and (3) that the world is providentially
ordered by God

The Stoics deeply understood the human condition, which has not fundamentally changed.
Like skilled physicians, they had antidotes for many of life’s troubles. Stoicism is a mindset
and philosophy that’s based on the logical premise that your mind determines your
perceptions, which can be trained. According to the Stoics, it’s not the outer world that’s the
problem, but rather your internal world. The Stoics came to many of the same conclusions
as the eastern meditation traditions. That’s not so surprising because they were using the
same tools of logic and introspection.In some sense, Stoicism is a mindset based on a set of
observations about how the mind ( and world) works. The Stoics argued that: Your thoughts
and beliefs create the world you inhabit, not external circumstances, so you ought to take
responsibility for your mind You can simultaneously erase a lot of worries by letting go of
what you can’t control, like reputation and wealth You can change your mind by taking a
new perspective, like confronting death to appreciate life or reminding yourself how small
you are in the grand scheme of the Universe. Adversity and hardship are inevitable parts of
life, and so you ought to train equanimity (or what the Stoics called ataraxia) for those-hard
times.

18) Neo-Platonism and th émphasis on spirit

18) Besides Stoicism and Epicureanism, renewed interest in Plato’s philosophy appeared in
Rome. Neoplatonism, however stressed the most mystical aspects of Plato’s philosophy and
minimized its rational aspects. The following two examples of Neoplatonist philosophers
should make it easy to see why Neoplatonism was very appealing to Christian theologians
who sought a philosophical basis for their religion. One brand of Neoplatonism combined
Platonic philosophy with Hebrew religion and in so doing created two things lacking in the
prevailing religions and philosophies-a concern with individual immortality and human
passion.

Neoplatonists believed human perfection and happiness were attainable in this world,
without awaiting an afterlife. Perfection and happiness—seen as synonymous- could be
achieved through philosophical contemplation. All people return to the One, from which
they emanated.

Emphasis on spirit: The Roman period lasted from about 30 B.C. to about A.D.400. At the X
height_ofits influence, the Roman Empire included the entire Western world, from the Near
East to the British Isles. The imperial expansion of the Roman Empire, and then its collapse,
brought a number of influences to bear on Roman culture. One came from the religions of
India and Persia. Indian Vedantism, for example, taught that perfection could be
approximated by entering into semiecstatic trances. Another example is Zoroastrianism,
which taught that individuals are caught in an eternal struggle between wisdom and
correctness, on the one hand, and ignorance and evil, on the other. All good things were
thought to derive from the brilliant, divine sun, and all bad things from darkness. Also
influential were a number of ancient mystery religions that entered the Greek and Roman
worlds primarily from the near east. Three examples are the cults of Magna Mater (Great
Mother), Isis, and Mithras (Angus, 1975). The mystery religions (or cults) had in common
secret rites of initiation; ceremonies (such as some form of sacrifice) designed to bring
initiates into communion with the patron deity or deities; an emphasis on death and rebirth;
rituals providing purification and forgiveness of sins (such as baptism in the holy water);
sacramental dramas providing initiates the exaltation of a new life; and the providing-of a
feeling of community among believers

19) Humanism

19) Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural
beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that
aspire to the greater good. – American Humanist Association.Humanism is a philosophy or a
way of thinking about the world. Humanism is a set of ethics or ideas about how people
should live and act. People who hold this set of ethics are called humanists. Humanists
prefer critical thinking and evidence (rationalism and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma
or superstition

The term humanism, as it applies to the Renaissance, does not mean humanitarianism. That
is, it does not refer to a deep concern about the welfare of humans. Nor does it refer to
humaneness-treating one’s fellow humans with respect, sensitivity, and dignity. As it applies
to the Renaissance, humanism denotes an intense interest in human beings, as if we were
discovering ourselves for the first time. Interest was focused on a wide range of human
activities. How do we think, behave, and feel? Of what are we capable? These and related
questions are reflected in the four major themes that characterized Renaissance humanism
1. Individualism. There was great concern with human potential and achievement. The
belief in the power of the individual to make a positive difference in the world created a
spirit of optimism. 2. Personal religion. Although all Renaissance humanists were devout
Christians, they wanted religion to be more personal and less formal and ritualistic. They
argued for a religion that could be personally experienced rather than one that the church
hierarchy imposed on the people.3.Intense interest in the past. The Renaissance humanists
became enamored with the past. The works of the early Greek and Roman poets,
philosophers, and politicians were of special interest. Renaissance scholars wanted to read
what the ancients had really said, instead of someone’s interpretation. They sought to assign
correct authorship to old manuscripts because the authorship of several manuscripts had
been assigned incorrectly, and they attempted to expose forgeries. 4. Anti-Aristotelianism.
Many of the humanists believed that the church had gone too far in its embracing of
Aristotle’s philosophy.It had reached the point where Aristotle’s philosophy was as
authoritative as the Bible. Passages from Aristotle commonly settled theological disputes. To
the humanists this was ridiculous because Aristotle had been only human, and like any
human he was capable of error. To the regret of the humanists, Aristotle’s philosophy, along
with Christian theology, had been used to create a set of rules, regulations, and beliefs that
one had to accept in order to be a Christian. Although there were many interesting
Renaissance humanists, space permits only a brief review of a few of them.

20) Ptolomey, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo

20) In the second century, Ptolemy, a GraecoEgyptian, summarized the mathematical and
observational astronomy of his time and that of antiquity in his Almagest. The Ptolemaic
system included the beliefs that the heavenly bodies, including the earth, are spherical in
shape, and that the sun, moon, planets, and stars travel around the earth in orbits.In this
view, the earth was not only the center of the solar system, but of the entire universe.
Despite a few such dissenters, the view of the universe reflected in the Ptolemaic system
prevailed until the 17th century. The Ptolemaic system was resilient for at least three
reasons: 1.It accorded well with the testimony of the senses (the earth does appear to be
the fixed center of the universe). 2.It allowed astronomical predictions as accurate as could
be expected without the aid of modern measuring instruments. 3. Later, it was congenial to
Christian theology because it gave humans a central place in the universe and thus was in
agreement with the Biblical account of creation. For a complete description of Ptolemy’s
system, including its mystical components and ethical implications, see Taub, 1993.In
medieval theology, much of the teachings of Ptolemy, like those of Aristotle,became part of
official church dogma and were therefore unchallengeable The worldview based on the
Ptolemaic system became deeply entrenched in philosophy, theology, science, and everyday
life.

Nicolaus Copernicus Copernicus did argue successfully that, rather than the sun revolving
around the earth (the geocentric theory), the earth revolves around the sun (the
heliocentric theory). For Copernicus, the heliocentric theory switched the center of the
universe from the earth to the sun. This argument, of course, was a clear contradiction of
church dogma. Only gradually was it realized that Copernicus’s heliocentric theory
questioned the traditional place of humankind in the universe. Once this realization
occurred a number of related questions followed: Were we favored by God and therefore
placed in the center of the universe? If not, why not? If the church was wrong about this
vital fact, was it wrong about other things? Are there other solar systems that contain life? If
so, how are they related to ours and which did God favor? Because Copernicus’s heliocentric
theory challenged a deeply held worldview going back at least to Aristotle, it was considered
revolutionary (Kuhn, 1957).

Common sense dictated the acceptance of the geocentric theory and those rejecting it were
considered either misinformed or insane. Within the church, to challenge the geocentric
theory was to challenge church dogma and was therefore heretical.

Johannes Kepler is best known for his three laws of planetary motion. These laws are:
Planets move in orbits shaped like an ellipse. A line between a planet and the Sun covers
equal areas in equal times.Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician and astronomer
who discovered that the Earth and planets travel about the sun in elliptical orbits. He gave
three fundamental laws of planetary motion. He also did important work in optics and
geometry.Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion. They describe how (1) planets move in
elliptical orbits with the Sun as a focus, (2) a planet covers the same area of space in the
same amount of time no matter where it is in its orbit, and (3) a planet’s orbital period is
proportional to the size of its orbit (its semi-major axis).Kepler’s geometric model of a
heliocentric planetary orbit is summed up in his three well-known laws of planetary motion
According to Kepler’s first law, all planetary orbits are ellipses which are confocal with the
sun and lie in a fixed plane.Kepler’s laws of planetary motion mark an important turning
point in the transition from geocentrism to heliocentrism. They provide the first quantitative
connection between the planets, including earth. But even more they mark a time when the
important questions of the times were changing

Galileo: Armed with these Pythagorean-Platonic beliefs, Galileo set out to correct a number
of misconceptions about the world and about heavenly bodies. He challenged Aristotle’s
contention that heavy objects fall faster than lighter ones because of their inherent
tendency to do so by demonstrating that both fall at the same rate. He accepted the
Copernican heliocentric theory and wrote a book in which he demolished all arguments
against it.In 1609 Galileo used his modified version of the newly invented telescope to
discover the mountains of the moon, sunspots, and the fact that the Milky Way is made up
of many stars not visible to the naked eye. He also discovered four moons of Jupiter, which
meant that there were at least 11 bodies in the solar system instead of 7 as claimed by the
church.Most people refused to look through Galileo’s telescope because they believed that
to do so was an act of heresy.

21) Rene Descartes

21) Descartes’s method of self-exploration was productive almost immediately. Usually

Descartes explored his many new ideas during intense meditation while lying in bed, during
one of these meditations one of his greatest insights occurred. Descartes invented analytic
geometry after watching a fly in his room. He noted that he could precisely describe the f ly’s
position at any given instance with just three numbers: the fly’s perpendicular distances
from two walls and from the ceiling. Generalizing from this observation, Descartes showed
how geometry and algebra could be integrated, making it possible to represent astronomical
phenomena such as planetary orbits with numbers

Thus began Descartes’s search for philosophical truth. He resigned himself to doubt
everything that could be doubted and to use whatever was certain, just as one would use
axioms in mathematics. That is, that which was certain could be used to deduce other
certainties. After a painful search, Descartes concluded that the only thing of which he could
be certain was the fact that he was doubting; but doubting was thinking, and thinking
necessitated a thinker. Thus, he arrived at his celebrated conclusion Cogito, ergo sum (1
think, therefore I am)

Descartes further analyzed the content of his thought and found that some ideas were
experienced with such clarity and distinctiveness that they needed to be accepted as true
and yet they had no counterparts in his personal experience. Descartes thought that such
ideas were innate; that is, they were natural components of the mind. For example, he
pbserved that even though he was imperfect, he st ill entertained ideas that were perfect.
Descartes included among the innate ideas those of unity, infinity, perfection, the axioms of
geometry, and God.

22) Isaac Newton

22) Like Galileo, Newton conceived of the universe as a complex, lawful machine created by
God. Guided by these conceptions, Newton developed differential and integral calculus
(Leibniz made the same discovery independently), developed the universal law of
gravitation, and did pioneer work in optics. Newton created a conception of the universe
that was to prevail in physics and astronomy for more than two centuries, until Einstein
revised it. His methods of verification, like those of Galileo, included observation
nathematical deduction, and experimentation.In Newton, who was deeply religious, we have
a complete reversal of the earlier faith-oriented way of knowing God: Because God made
the universe, studying it objectively was a way of understanding God. The success of
Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton with empirical observation and mathematical
deduction stimulated scholars in all fields and launched a spirit of curiasity and
experimentation that has persisted until the present. Similarly, the success that resulted
from viewing the universe as a machine was to have profound implications for psychology.
Science had become a proven way of unlocking nature’s secrets, and it was embraced with
intense enthusiasm.