PSYC 210 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Universal Grammar, Weaning, Neurosurgery

• School: University of Victoria
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 210
• Professor: Bub Daniel

Document Summary

Descartes believed we are innately equipped with certain aptitudes and ideas that act as the building blocks of our intellect. Rationalism: claim that at least a part of our concepts and knowledge is acquired independently of sensory experience. Empiricists: deny that any ideas are innately predetermined; all knowledge is built entirely on sensory experience. It is impossible for something to both exist and not exist at the same time. We assume too often that human conceptual abilities are innately determined; a great deal of our thinking, he maintained, is guided simply by experience. Learned by directly perceiving them: simple: ideas that cannot be analyzed further into simpler elements, complex: made up of simpler components. Do(cid:374)(cid:859)t ha(cid:448)e to (cid:271)e a(cid:272)(cid:395)ui(cid:396)ed (cid:271)(cid:455) pe(cid:396)(cid:272)eptio(cid:374) (cid:271)e(cid:272)ause the(cid:455) (cid:272)a(cid:374) (cid:271)e s(cid:455)(cid:374)thesized f(cid:396)o(cid:373) si(cid:373)ple(cid:396) ideas that we have perceived directly. If not, these simpler ideas can themselves be further analyzed into constituents which been thus experienced.