A History of Psychology
Chapter two:
Philosophical Influence on Psychology
1.The Spirit of Mechanism
(17th-19th century Zeitgeist)
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Clocks and mechanical figures
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Mechanism
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The universe as a great machine
Feature of science
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Influenced the direction of psychology
Observation, experimentation, & measurement
Nature Philosophy = physics
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Newton: the universe is a clock, made by God. It is
measurable, predictable, and orderly
II. The Clock Universe
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Clock as metaphor for mechanism
Determinism and reductionism
Automata
The calculating engine
II. The Clock Universe
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Clock as metaphor for mechanism
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Available to all levels of society
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Behaviors are Regular, predictable, precise
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Harmony and order of the universe
II. The Clock Universe
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Determinism and reductionism
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Determinism
 Every act is determined by past events.
 If universe = a clock, then we can predict change
because we know the order and regularity of a clock
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Reductionism
 Like clock could be understood by reducing them to
their basic components to know its functioning
 Explain phenomena on one level (e.g., complex
ideas) in terms of phenomena on another level (e.g.,
simple ideas)
II. The Clock Universe
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Automata
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Automaton figure of a Monk
People as Machine
Automata as models for
human beings
Bodies were like machines
made by God
II. The Clock Universe–
The calculating engine
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Charles Babbage
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Charles Babbage (17911871)
Enrolled at Cambridge U.
Knew about math more than
faculty
Became a mathematic
professor at Cambridge
II. The Clock Universe
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The calculating engine
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Automata: human physical action
Calculator: human mental action
Babbage invited 300 people to his home to look
at his design
Called “The difference engine”
However, Government withdrew
fundingupset
II. The Clock Universe
Babbage’s calculating machine

Calculator imitated
human mental actions
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Influence modern
computer, human
cognitive process, a
form of artificial
intelligence
III. The beginnings of Modern
Science
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Empiricism
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The pursuit of knowledge through observation
and experimentation
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Applied the idea of the clockwork mechanism
to the human body
III. The beginnings of Modern
Science
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Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Inherited a lot money to travel and
intellectual pursuits
Poor health
Queen in Sweden requested him to
teach her philosophy in 1649
However, early morning lessons
and cold weather, he died after four
months in 1650.
IV. The contribution of Descartes:

1. The Nature of the Body
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Body is Matter,
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Body is like Machine
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Body is Involuntary Movement
IV. The contribution of Descartes:
2. Reflect Action theory (S-R)
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Human behavior is
predictable if input are
known
Impact later on “classical
conditioning” phenomena
Support from physiology
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Blood circulation; digestion
IV. The contribution of Descartes:
3. Localization of functions in brain
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IV. The contribution of Descartes:
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4. The Body-Mind Interaction
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Mind thinks, perceives, and wills
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Mind provided information about the external
world
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Mind influences and is influenced by the body
IV. The contribution of Descartes:
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5. The Doctrine of Ideas
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Derived Ideas (from the external source)
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from the direct application of an external stimulus
The sound of bell
Innate Ideas (from the internal source)
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from the mind or consciousness
Impact:
Gestalt psychology—the principle of organization
Depth perception
V. Philosophical Foundations of
the New Psychology
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European philosophy: foundations of the
science of psychology
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Positivism
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Materialism
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Empiricism (major role)
V. Philosophical Foundations of
the New Psychology
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Positivism (August Comte, 1798-1857)
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Recognize only natural phenomena or facts that
are objectively observable
Only knowledge from science was valid
Materialism

The facts of the universe could be described in
physical terms and explained by the properties
of matter and energy
V. Philosophical Foundations of
the New Psychology
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Empiricism (major role)
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How the mind acquires knowledge
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Attributes all knowledge to experience
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Knowledge is from sensory experiences and
objective observation
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John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume,
David Hartley, James Mill, and John Stuart Mill
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Locke (1632-1704)
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John Locke
John Locke (1632-1704)
Studied at Universities in
London and Oxford
Interested in politics; impacted
on American Independence
An Essay Concerning Human
Understanding (1690)
started British empiricism
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Locke (1632-1704)

1. How the mind acquires knowledge
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At birth: individuals are blank and clean
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Individual acquires knowledge through
experience and leaning
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Locke (1632-1704)
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2. Sensation and Reflection
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Ideas are the result of reflection and sensations
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Sensation (impression): sense impressions
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Reflection (idea):
 mind operates on the sense impressions to
form ideas
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Combine the sense impresions to form
abstractions and other higher-level ideas
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Locke (1632-1704)
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3. Simple idea and complex idea
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Simple idea
 Can not be analyzed or reduced to even
simpler ideas
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Complex Idea
 Combining simple ideas
 Can be analyzed and reduced to simpler
ideas
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Locke (1632-1704)
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4. The theory of Association
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Rejected Descartes’ innate ideas
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Simple ideas may be linked or associated to
form complex ideas
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Association (early) = learning (today)
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Locke (1632-1704)
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5. Primary and secondary qualities
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Primary: objective, exist independently of
being experienced.
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The size and shape of a building
Secondary: subjective, exist if experienced
(perceived)
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Color
Water: cold, hot, warm
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
George Berkeley (1685-1753)
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George Berkeley
Born and educated in Ireland
An Essay Towards a New Theory of
Vision (1709) & A Treatise
Concerning the Principles of
Human Knowledge (1710)
Taught at Trinity College in Dublin
One school in California named
“Berkeley” in honor of him
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
George Berkeley (1685-1753)
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1. Perception is the only reality
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Mentalism: all knowledge is a function of mental
phenomena and dependent on the perceiving or
experiencing person
One can only rely on one’s perception of the physical
nature of objects
Impact the phenomenology of the humanistic school,
focus on the individual’s unique experiences
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
George Berkeley (1685-1753)
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2. The Association of sensations
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Knowledge: composition of simple idea, held
together by association
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Depth perception: is learned and is the result of
the association or synthesis of sensations.
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
David Hume (1711-1776)
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If no God, one has no way of
knowing
1. Impression and Ideas
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David Hume
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Impression: like sensation and
perceptions
Idea: images of impression
Both may be simple or
complex
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
David Hume (1711-1776)
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2. Law of Association
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Resemblance (similarity)
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The more alike two ideas are, the more readily they
will be associated
Contiguity in time and space
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The more closely linked two ideas are in time and
space, the more readily they will be associated
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
David Hartley (1705-1757)
David Hartley
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Was prepared to be a minister,
but later turned to medicine
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Observations on Man, His
Frame, His Duty, and His
Expectations (association)
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
David Hartley (1705-1757)
 1 Association by contiguity and repetition
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Contiguity: explains memory, reasoning, emotion,
voluntary and involuntary actions
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Repetition: the more frequently two ideas occur
together, the more readily they will be associated.
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Infant (no knowledge)Children (rely on sensory
experiences and mental connections) -adult (rely on
thinking, judging, & reasoning)
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The first to apply a theory of association to explain all
types of mental activities.
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
David Hartley (1705-1757)
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2. The influence of mechanism
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Explain psychological process in terms of
mechanical principles and explain their
underlying physiological processes
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Impulses, vibration (human brain and nervous
system)
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
James Mill (1773-1836)
James Mill
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Educated at the University of
Edinburgh, Scotland
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Worked at church
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Was a writer
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Analysis of the Phenomena of
Human Mind
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
James Mill (1773-1836)
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1. The mind as a Machine
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No place for free will
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Mind can be studied by it’s elements
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Mental elements: sensations and ideas
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Complex ideas solely due to association
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
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His father is James Mill
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Received private tutoring: Greek, Latin,
algebra, history, political economy….
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John Stuart Mill
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John could read Plato in Greek at 3;
wrote scholarly paper at 11; master
university curriculum at 12; suffered
depression by 21.
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Fell in love with Harriet Taylor
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Equality of sex
Empiricism and Association:
Acquiring knowledge through Experience:
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
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1. Mental chemistry

Mental chemistry: Complex ideas are more than the
sum of the simple ideas
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Creative Synthesis: a combination of mental elements
created something greater than or different from the
sum of the original elements
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Argued it is possible to make a scientific study of mind