Columbia University Fall 2003

PSYC V3167x History of Psychology

Prof. Daniel Robinson

3 pts.

200B Sch. M 2:10 - 4 PM

Course Description

Prerequisites: Open to juniors, seniors, and postbacs who have taken W1001 or BC1001 and at least two other psychology courses, or who have the instructor's permission to enroll. Enrollment will be limited to 25.

The development of major and systematic contributions to the discipline of psychology, from the dawn of speculative philosophy in Ancient Greece to the present time.

Full description of the content of the course

From the dawn of speculative philosophy in Ancient Greece to the present time, theories have been advanced to account for normal as well as pathological features of mental and social life. This course traces the development of major and systematic contributions to what emerged as the distinct discipline of Psychology. Emphasis is placed less on the particular philosophical and scientific details than on the broader intellectual movements of thought generative of different perspectives on the nature of human nature. Although class meetings are organized chronologically, the subject itself displays a remarkable stability of foundational perspectives, even in the face of the relentless accumulation of facts. The central aim of the course is to examine these perspectives closely, in both their original forms and in latter-day variants of the same, in order to comprehend more fully and clearly what are finally the conceptual foundations of the subject.

Required Reading:

1. Robinson, D. N. An Intellectual History of Psychology. 3^rd edition, University of Wisconsin Press, 1995.

2. Robinson, D. N. The Mind: An Oxford Reader. Oxford University Press, 1998.

Suggested Reading: (These are some of the primary sources considered in the class meetings. They can be found in any number of editions and published anthologies. It is expected that students will find these sources and take sufficiently detailed notes to be able to summarize the main points and arguments)

a. Plato, Meno, Book I; Republic, Book IV.

b. Aristotle, On the Soul (all)

c. Arrian's Discourses of Epictetus, Book I, Chaps. i-xx

d. St. Augustine, On the Free Will, Book II,  Chaps. i-x

e. Roger Bacon Opus Majus, The 1st Part, Chaps. 1-2; IVth Part, Ch.3; VIth Part, Chaps. 1-2

f. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Part I, Q.75, 76

g. Montaigne's Essays, First Book, Chaps. 40, 42; Third Book, Chap. XIII

h. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Part I, Chaps. 11, 13, 14

i. David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, Book I, Pt. IV, Sec. vi; Book II, Pt. II, Secs. i, ii.

j. Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation. Chaps. 23, 52,

k. Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Animals and Man (all)

l. Ernst Mach, The Analysis of Sensations,    Ch.II.

m. Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Part I: "On the Prejudices of Philosophers".

n. Sigmund Freud, Introductory Lectures in Psychoanalysis (all)

o. William James, selections from his Writings: "Does Consciousness Exist?"; "Pragmatism"

p. Wolfgang Kohler, The Task of Gestalt Psychology (all)

q. B. F. Skinner, Science and Human Behavior (all)

r. Ulrich Neisser, Cognitive Psychology (all)

s. Daniel Dennett, Elbow Room (all)

Examinations & Grades: There is a midterm and a final examination in this course. At the time of each, students are to submit a take-home essay based on the questions listed below. These submitted essays form part of the midterm and final examinations respectively. For grading purposes, the midterm and final examinations are given equal weight The date of the Midterm is Monday, 27 October.

Midterm and Final Examination (Essay) Questions and Topical Organization of the Course

            The following questions are the set from which the term-paper essays and the examination questions are drawn. They are also guides to the topical organization of class discussions. In developing answers to the following questions, it is important that lecture/discussion notes and assigned readings be consulted and judiciously employed. Class meetings are intended to provide not summaries of assigned readings but supplements to them. Grades awarded for submitted essays and for answers on the two examinations will depend heavily on one’s success in integrating the readings with material developed in the weekly meetings.

Code for Readings: After each of the following questions, this code indicates the relevant readings: IHP = An Intellectual History of Psychology; M = The Mind: An Oxford Reader; C = Presented chiefly in class meetings; Letters a – s refer to the "Suggested readings" cited above.

FIRST WEEK 8 Sept.

1. Summarize the main features of the so-called "nomological-deductive model" of explanation. On what conception of psychological phenomena does it depend? Then, consider that (Collingwoodian) "idea of history" in relation to this model and discuss the implications for a more developed Psychology. (IHP, ch. 1; C)

2. Consider several main factors that worked to promote a philosophical and psychological outlook in the ancient Greek world in the centuries leading up to Socrates. Discuss how these very factors tended to shape the idea of human nature that would evolve in the philosophical and psychological treatises themselves. (IHP, ch. 2; )

SECOND WEEK 15 Sept.

3. In examining the problem of knowledge, the Socratics reached solutions of a rationalistic-cognitive nature, generally at the expense of empiricistic alternatives. Summarize and illustrate the arguments that yielded such solutions and that grounded them in a nativistic theory of cognition. Consider this in light of the "transcendentalist" idea of human nature affirmed in the dialogues. (IHP, ch. 2; M, selections 2, 3, 4; a)

4. Aristotle's theory of psyche is entirely naturalistic in accounting for all of the psychological attributes of animals and nearly so in accounting for human psychology. Discuss this naturalistic perspective and note where and on what basis Aristotle's theory moves away from a strict naturalism. Summarize the implications of this departure as regards Aristotle's global conception of human nature. (IHP, ch. 3; M, selections 5, 6, 14, 15; b)

THIRD WEEK 22 Sept.

5. Aristotle's theory of personality is grounded in considerations of character as this is at once shaped by the polis and is self-formed. Discuss how the tension between social determinism and personal responsibility is dealt with in Aristotle's systematic psychology. (C; IHP, Ch. 3)

6. To some extent, Aristotle's moral theories are closely tied to his ethological perspective. Explain and discuss. (C; M, selections 50, 51)

7. Examine the evolution of the concept of psyche from Homeric, through Socratic and to Aristotle's writings. (C; IHP, chaps. 2,3; M, selections 26, 27)

8. It may be said that Stoicism took advantage of one aspect of Aristotelian philosophy and Epicureanism of another. Review the "aristotelian psychology" in each of these schools, as well as their departures from Aristotle's psychology. (IHP, ch. 3; c; C)

FOURTH WEEK: 29 Sept.

9. Discuss the relationship between sensory and rational (cognitive) processes as analyzed by major Scholastic theorists (especially Thomas Aquinas and Roger Bacon) and how this analysis departed from Platonistic conceptions. Connect this discussion to the development of experimentalism by Roger Bacon and others at Oxford. Find a place also within your answer for a brief account of the nominalist-realist controversy and the issue of "universals". (IHP, ch. 4, 5; M, selections 7, 8, 16, 17;e, f )

10. Define "humanism" as it is correctly applied to Renaissance thought and relate this to a more general "humanistic" perspective on Psychology than had been common during the various medieval periods. Choose relevant passages from Ficino, Valla, Erasmus, Montaigne and others to illustrate the main points. (IHP, ch. 6; C; g)

FIFTH WEEK: 6 Oct.

11. Locke is a "father" of modern empiricism but is not radically empiricistic in his theory of mind. Explain and illustrate. (IHP, ch. 7; M, selections 19, 20)

12. Berkeley's "immaterialism" arises in part from the Lockean theory of "secondary qualities" taken to the end of its logical tether. Explain. (IHP, ch. 7; M, selection 43; C)

13. Hume may be said to have grounded morality entirely in the domain of psychology, producing an early version of utilitarianism in the process. Explain, and compare Hume on this issue with Locke, and against the background of Montaigne's Book I, Ch. XL. In modern parlance, Hume's position on morals would be described as "non-cognitivist". Discuss this briefly as well. (IHP, ch. 7; M, selection 21; i)

SIXTH WEEK: 13 Oct.

14. Reid asserts a theory of common sense realism against the quasi-phenomenalism found in Hume's Treatise. Summarize Reid's critique of the "ideal" theory and discuss his Common Sense principles as a species of nativistic or intuitionistic Psychology. (IHP, ch. 7; C)

15. Locke, Hume and Reid offer different accounts of the "self", Reid's being radically different from the others. Summarize the three accounts and Reid's critique of the theories advanced by Locke and Hume. Extend your essay by summarizing Reid's alternative to and criticism of Locke's conventionalist account of linguistic meaning. (IHP, ch. 7; M, selections 64 - 74)

16. The most consistently empiricistic Psychology in the tradition of Hume was developed and defended by J. S. Mill. He argues that the protected claims of the "intuitionists" are grounded in the method of introspection, but the protection withers when the psychological method is adopted. Explain how Mill intends these methods to be understood and how he reaches the conclusion that the former supports intuitionism by default. (IHP, pp. 263-267 and 304-313; M, selection 23)

SEVENTH WEEK: 20 Oct.

17. Descartes is credited (charged!) with a theory of "innate ideas" which he went so far as to deny in print! Nonetheless, he did reach the conclusion that certain notions were entirely non-empirical in origin and thus must be granted to the mind as an aspect of its very constitution. Cite one such "idea" and review Descartes's argument for it. (IHP, ch. 8; M, selections 9, 30)

18. Briefly review the relationships (a) between Kant's pure intuitions and all experience and (b) the pure categories of the understanding and all knowledge. How do these challenge Hume-type theories of perception and cognition. (IHP, ch. 8; M, selections 11-13)

EIGHTH WEEK: 27 October MIDTERM EXAMINATION

"EMPTY WEEK": 3 NOVEMBER – MIDSEMESTER HOLIDAY

NINTH WEEK: 10 Nov.

19. Helmholtz explains the rift between science and philosophy on the basis of the judgment of the scientific community that "the Hegelians were crazy". Discuss the tension between "Romanticism" and "Scientism" as these isms reached their clear expressions in the 19^th century. (IHP, ch. 8 and pp. 289-292 and 330-339; M, selections 76-79)

20. Darwin and Schopenhauer, coming from radically different starting points, reach similar positions in their theories of motivation. Summarize their respective methods and conclusions, noting main points of agreement and difference. (IHP, ch. 10, pp. 270-273 and ch. 11, pp.297-313; M, selections 52-60;j, k;C)

21. Mach and Nietzsche may be seen as occupying polar extremes in the matter of a developed Psychology. Discuss their respective positions on the prospects for a scientific Psychology. Consider in this connection Nietzsche's being credited as the first great "depth psychologist" of modern times. (IHP, pp. 289-292; M, selections 48, 70;l, m; C)

TENTH WEEK: 17 Nov.

22. Psychoanalytic theory has Darwinian and "conservationist" elements drawn from the larger scientific perspective of the late 19th century. Critically review and illustrate these aspects of Freudian theory. (IHP, pp. 313-327; M, selection 70; n)

23. In what respects did evolutionary theory influence the development of the social sciences? In this connection, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology are said to offer a scientific explanation of complex social phenomena. Critically assess this claim.. (IHP, ch. 12; M, selections 52-63)

ELEVENTH WEEK: 24 Nov.

24. William James is, he insists, a "radical empiricist", defending a version of pragmatism as the ultimate arbiter. And to this he adds "the will to believe" as a core feature of human psychology. These are thoroughly integrated aspects of Jamesian thought. Discuss. (IHP, ch. 12; M, selections 24, 67; o)

TWELFTH WEEK: 1 Dec.

25. The Behavioristic conception of human nature is often defended as being consistent with contemporary science. The defense is grounded in both conceptual and factual claims. Critically examine both the conceptual and the factual bases on which behaviorism is defended. (IHP, ch. 12; q;M, selection 25; C)

26. Consider the phenomena of latent learning, transposition, "insight", and language-acquisition as these bear on the central tenets of behaviorism. Consider these same phenomena in relation to the "cognitive revolution". (IHP, ch. 12; C; p, r)

THIRTEENTH WEEK: 8 Dec. (Final class meeting of term)

27. Discuss arguments for and against the proposition that mental processes are essentially computational and that the brain itself is a computer. Relate the issues here to developments in engineering and the information-sciences. Relate this to the emergence of "cognitive science". (M, selections 49, 63; s; C)

28. What makes the "Mind/Body" problem a problem? What are the assets and liabilities of current "cognitive neuroscience" in relation to it? (IHP, ch. 9; M, selections 26-47)

Last Modified by D.O'D Monday, July 28, 2003 3:37 PM