Ashley Miller
Kaplan University
PS210
Philosophy and Physiology Influenced Early Psychological Thought
Rene Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist and philosopher. He’s known as the founder of modern philosophy. He applied the idea of the clockwork mechanism to the human body. During the 17th century Descartes came up with the idea of dualism. This idea was described as, the mind and body being two separate realms that interact to form the human experience. He employed a method called methodological skepticism, meaning, he rejected any ideas that could be doubted. He came to the conclusion that he can be certain that he exists because he thinks. Descartes is, also, known for the Wax Argument. He claimed if he looked at a piece of wax he could describe it using his senses- shape, texture, color, smell. If he moved the wax towards a flame the wax would change characteristics (A History of Modern Psychology, 2014).
Hermann Von Helmholtz was a physiologist during the 18th century. He is known for his mathematics of the eye, theories of vision, and ideas on the visual perception of space, color and vision research. He invented the ophthalmoscope, a device still used to examine the retina of the eye. He studied audition, the perception of tones was a main focus. He experimented with the reaction times of sensory nerves. Unlike many researchers, Helmholtz did not agree with performing experiments just to gather data (A History of Modern Psychology, 2014).
References
A History of Modern Psychology. (2014). Philosophical Influences on Psychology.
Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1133173624/content/id/L2-2-9
A History of Modern Psychology. (2014). Physiological Influences on Psychology.
Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1133173624/pages/94910221
References: A History of Modern Psychology. (2014). Philosophical Influences on Psychology. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1133173624/content/id/L2-2-9 A History of Modern Psychology. (2014). Physiological Influences on Psychology. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1133173624/pages/94910221