Summary: The Handy Psychology Answer Book | 9781578593545 | Lisa J Cohen

Read the summary and the most important questions on The Handy Psychology Answer Book | 9781578593545 | Lisa J. Cohen

• 1 Introducing The Basics

• 1.2 Psychology Before Psychology

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• When was the field of psychology established?

  Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) is credited with first establishing psychology as an independent Science. He opened the first scientific laboratory to study psychology in 1879 at the university of Leipzig.

• Did Homer have a Concept of the Mind?

  No, characters' motivations are imposed on them through the whims of the gods. Athena makes Odysseus do whatever he does. Abstract ideas of mental life, of consiousness, do not exist and awareness is understood in concrete bodily terms. 

• In wich way was Aristotle much more enamored of the natural world?

  He believed knowledge had to come from systematic logical reasoning about our observations of nature. He maintained that the capacity for logical reasoning is innate, but the content of our knowledge can only be grasped through our senses. In this way, Aristotle anticipated the foundations of modern science.

• Did Plato's ideas anticipate Freud in any way?

  Plato also had ideas about emotions and emotional control that anticipated Freud's theories of the ego and the id. Plato's three-part division of the soul intro Appetite, Reason, and Temper (the spirited part of the soul) has been linked to Freud's division of the mind into the Id, Ego, and Superego. 
  
  Plato also believed in controlling the bodily passions in order to turn one's desire toward loftier goals, as described in his metaphor of the soul as a charioteer with a pair of winged steeds.

• About what is Plato's metaphor of the soul as a charioteer with a pair of winged steeds?

  One steed is immortal like the steeds of the gods and aspires toward contemplation of spiritual beauty. The other steed is mortal and plunges toward earth and toward animalistic passions and desire.
  
  The chariot must rein in the steed of animal appetites in order for the soul to gain true happiness.
  
  We can link the earthly steed to the Id and the Charioteer to the Ego. More loosely, we could tie the immortal steed to the superego.

• What is intrinsic Telos?

  Intrinsic Telos suggests taht the aim of the organism is inherent in its nature, an acorn is innately programmed to grow into a tree.

• What is extrinsic Telos?

  Extrinsic Telos refers to a purpose imposed by an external force, such as a deity.

• What did Cicero (106-42 BCE) say about the Mind?

  Cicero, the famous orator, gave a detailed description of the passions. He grouped the passions into four categories:
  
  

  1. Discomfort
  2. Fear
  3. Pleasure or Joy
  4. Desire 

• How does the belief in Demonic Possession relate to Psychology?

  Mental illness, in particular, was seen to be caused by demonic possession. It was believed that Jesus exorcised demons, a task that was performed by priests by the time of the Middle Ages. 

• What import text in the history of medicine did Avicenna write?

  The Canon of Medicine.