PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1.2: Paul Broca, Tabula Rasa, Pineal Gland
Document Summary
Psychology"s roots: the path to a science of the mind. 1860s psychology"s development as a new science began. Structuralists tried to analyze the mind by breaking it down into its basic components. Functionalists focused on how mental abilities allow people to adapt to their environment. Greek thinkers such as plato and aristotle were among the 1st to struggle with fundamental questions about how the mind works. Theories of 2 greek philosophers in 4th century bc. Nativism the philosophical view that certain kinds of language are innate or inborn: favoured by plato. Philosophical empiricism the philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience: favoured by aristotle, aristotle believed that the child"s mind was a tabula rasa (a blank state) on which experiences are written, aristotle was plato"s student. Although few modern psychologists believe that nativism or empiricism is entirely correct, the issue of just how much nature and nurture explain any given behavior is still a matter of controversy.
