Greek & Roman Thought
Which Greek philosopher is famous for saying “Know thyself” and teaching through questions?
Socrates
What is mind–body dualism?
The idea that mind (mental) and body (physical) are two different substances
In the mechanistic view, the universe is compared to what?
A machine or clock
Which bodily system became central for studying the mind?
The nervous system
Who said: “Cogito, ergo sum”?
René Descartes
Who proposed the tripartite soul: reason, spirit, appetite?
Plato
According to Descartes, which part of the human is mechanical?
The body
What does determinism mean?
Every event has a cause; nothing happens randomly
Who showed that nerve impulses are electrical?
Luigi Galvani
Which idea says that knowledge comes from sensory experience?
Empiricism
Which philosopher argued that the soul is the form of the body and not separate from it?
Aristotle
What role did reflexes play in Descartes’ theory?
They showed that behavior can be automatic and mechanical.
What is reductionism?
Explaining complex phenomena by breaking them into simpler parts
Müller’s doctrine of specific nerve energies show?
Each sensory nerve produces its own type of sensation
Which philosopher argued the mind is a tabula rasa (blank slate)?
John Locke
According to Hippocrates, what causes illness?
Imbalance in bodily elements or fluids
Which structure did Descartes believe connected mind and body?
The pineal gland
What is one risk of viewing humans strictly as machines?
It ignores subjective experience, meaning, and free will.
What controversial experiments did Giovanni Aldini perform in public demonstrations?
He used electricity to stimulate dead bodies, making muscles move as if they were alive.
What connects Descartes, mechanism, and physiology?
The belief that the body operates by laws
Name the four bodily fluids in Galen’s theory and their temperaments:
Blood → Sanguine (optimistic, social, energetic)
Yellow bile → Choleric (ambitious, irritable, quick-tempered)
Black bile → Melancholic (sad, thoughtful, reserved)
Phlegm → Phlegmatic (calm, slow, unemotional)
What was John Locke’s main criticism of René Descartes’ idea of innate knowledge?
Locke argued that the mind is not born with ideas; all knowledge comes from experience (sensation and reflection).
How did the mechanistic worldview influence psychology?
It encouraged studying behavior and mind using measurement, laws, and experiments
What is extirpation?
A method of studying brain function by removing or destroying specific brain areas and observing what abilities are lost.
How does John Locke’s view of knowledge differ from Descartes’?
Locke believed knowledge comes from experience (empiricism), while Descartes believed knowledge comes from reason and innate ideas (rationalism).