PSY 810 - Historical Concepts of an Enduring Issue

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1 Running head: HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS Historical Conceptions of an Enduring Issue Ashlee T. Byers PSY 810 – History and Systems of Psychology Grand Canyon University August 24, 2022

2 HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS Introduction When considering the history of psychology as an academic discipline, there are several philosophers that come to mind. Their thoughts, theories, and vantage points laid the foundation for, and also shaped, the field into what it is today. A comparison and contrast of theories as presented by many of psychology’s forefathers has been presented through the years. Many theories have been confirmed, while others have been rejected or dismissed, through research and scientific processes that were not available during the conception of this beloved field. In this assignment, a comparison and contrast of Aristotle and Rene Descartes’ views on body, mind, and soul will be presented. This document will also present the comparison of vantage points regarding the nature of introspection of Edward B. Titchener, Auguste Comte, and Immanuel Kant. Body, Mind, & Soul To the unlearned, the concept of mind, body, and soul are all an intertwined and often synonymous concept. There are even songs that have attempted to speak on the relationship between all three words. The philosophers Aristotle and Rene Descartes have had long documented theories regarding these concepts. There has always been an understanding that a person’s emotions or thoughts can affect their bodies, but there is now a greater understanding of how a person’s emotions can affect their physical health, body, and even the longevity of their life. Regarding the concepts of soul and body, and how they relate, Plato and Aristotle had very contrasting views. While Plato had the understanding that a person’s soul is inside their body, Aristotle formed the opposing understanding that it was the soul that actually encompassed

3 HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS the body. Aristotle’s belief was that the soul and the body were not two entities that can exist separate from each other, but that the soul is the entire being in which the physical, organic body is afforded the ability to operate. He then divides the soul into three different aspects which are responsible for separate actions. The rational soul, or logos, is responsible for reason, the nutritive soul is responsible for growth and nutrition, and the appetitive soul is responsible for governing a person’s desires (Olshewsky, 1976). His structure of the soul and its aspects have had a massive influence on both philosophy and science for over two millenniums. Now Rene Descartes, after Aristotle, took on a theoretical concept that corresponded more with that of Plato. The stated consensus has been that Descartes’ views aligned with Plato, but their two concepts were fundamentally different also. Although they both had differing opinions on which concept of mind and body encompassed the other, Descartes and Aristotle did share the view that there is a single soul, and that the soul operates specifically through one bodily organ. Descartes’ position on mind-body dualism eliminated the role of the soul as physiological and introduced the pineal gland as the primary holder of the soul as the place where each person’s thoughts are formed. Thus, his belief was that the soul had the ability to activate the body. His understanding was that the body already exists, and a knowledge of events causes physical events to occur. The body and soul are distinctly separate, with him considering the body a material substance and the soul to be an immaterial substance (Remnant, 1979). Introspection Introspection is a process that can technically have several definitions, but in regard to the field of psychology, it involves both a formal and informal experimental and researched

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4 HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS approach. Simply put, introspection is a process of examining one’s personal emotions, feelings, and thoughts. The person is to look inward to reflect on their own reactions in an attempt to achieve some form of emotional awareness. It is, in its most basic of definitions, examining one’s own mental state (Schultz & Schultz, 2016). The accuracy of this concept has often been debated, with many philosophers agreeing on introspection and its effect on knowledge but disagreeing on the concepts its methodology. The nature of introspection will be discussed from the vantage points of Titchener, Comte, and Kant. Edward B. Titchener, often considered a disciple of Wilhelm Wundt, believed introspection to be the main technique of structuralism. His students were trained to be skilled at the concept, showing that psychology could indeed be considered an experimental science. Titchener, in regard to the concept and science of introspection, felt that the mind is prone to imagery. He stated that the term is highly equivocal, the concept is wholly imaginary, and the procedure may be scientifically illegitimate because the term can shatter into many different classes which might involve several contradictory core mechanisms (Prinz, 2004). Thus, he taught his students to avoid stimulus error in practice by reporting only their experienced sensations and not meanings. Over time, Titchener’s usage of introspection and his approach to the study became much more limited and rigid. This adjustment led to a diminished reliability of his research’s results, causing critics to argue that the concept of structuralism, as a whole, is too reliant on things that cannot be accurately measured or observed like internal behaviors. The experimental methods in which he chose to study the mind were deemed to be too subjective. His classical approach to introspection caused other philosophers to dispute the merit to his philosophy.

5 HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS Auguste Comte expressed criticisms of the methods of introspection. His philosophical background lies in the belief that there is no transformation of man, but only evolution, and that the fundamental constitution of man is invariable. Understanding that he was born and raised into an era where the belief that there was a direct link between the existence of God and the immortal soul. His stance on the notion of introspection is that inner observation is “pure illusion” and “fundamental sophism.” He found it completely absurd that a man should attempt to see himself think. His belief was that trying to understand one’s own thoughts and making mental faculties dependent on organized matter was easily seen as spurning the unique gift that God gave to man and thus choosing to completely abandon God Himself (Wilson, 1991). Immanuel Kant posed critique of the topic of introspection in that there is independence of the theory deploying a higher order of introspection from self-knowledge. Kant posed the argument that there are two corresponding differences that each support the doctrine of a person’s inner sense. His belief seemed to be contradictory because although he opposes the introduction of introspection because it seems to alter the concept on one’s consciousness, he later introduced the same actual concept of introspection into the doctrine of his that focuses on inner sense. His belief was that people have both an inner self and an outer self that, collectively, form a person’s conscious. According to his understanding, the soul, according to empirical doctrine, can never evolve into anything more than a natural description of the soul. Any attempt made at inner observation would completely alter the conscious experience, introducing a variable of observation into that said conscious experience (Stevenson, 2016). Conclusion

6 HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS When considering the field of psychology, it should be understood that the history of this beloved subject spans several hundred years with one of the most broad presentations of philosophies and traditions. It seems that this field is ever evolving, with the confirmation or dispute of theories through scientific findings. The debates on understanding the relationship between the physical body and a person’s mind/soul is ever going, as is the nature of introspection. This concept is crucial to psychology and the idea that the physical conditions can affect mental health and subsequently mental conditions can affect a person’s mental health. Regardless of which end of the spectrum that a philosopher is on; all can agree that there is a true connection between the physical body and the soul. Aristotle’s findings on this theory were extremely instrumental in developing a foundation for which future studies regarding the connection of mind and soul could be based. As seen throughout this assignment, there are truly historical concepts to enduring issues. The debates on the previously mentioned topics tend to transition through time periods, with each subsequent philosopher adding their own opinion or scientific research to the results. Will there ever be a clearly defined answer and decision to the debate of these mentioned topics? In my opinion, with the controversy of both sides, the presentation of “solutions” will always be controversial due to humans having the ability to formulate their own thoughts, opinions, and understanding of the matters. As time progresses, the topics will continue to evolve and the debates will do nothing but become more complex and, thus, intriguing.

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7 HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS Reference: Olshewsky, T. M. (1976). On the relations of soul to body in Plato and Aristotle. Journal of the History of Philosophy , 14 (4), 391-404. Prinz, J. (2004). The fractionation of introspection. Journal of consciousness studies , 11 (7-8), 40-57. Remnant, P. (1979). Descartes: Body and soul. Canadian Journal of Philosophy , 9 (3), 377-386. Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). A history of modern psychology . Cengage Learning. Stevenson, L. (2016). Self-Knowledge in Kant and Sartre. In Comparing Kant and Sartre (pp. 115-131). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Wilson, F. (1991). Mill and Comte on the method of introspection. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 27 (2), 107–129.

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