PSY 3006 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Well-Order

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Chpt 1
The mind-body problem is one of the fundamental philosophical and scientific issues in
human knowledge
The standard biomedical model (too restricting)
The Cartesian idea (the standard biomedical model goes like this: “disease is a
linearly causal process, a condition of the living animal...or one of its parts that
impairs the performance of a vital function.”
(in other words, disease is disorder in an otherwise smooth-running machine)
(the cure is to disrupt the causative agent at the physical level to help the machine
repair itself, restore order, and regain normal function.
Finally, in the strong form of this model, following our Western tradition the
workings of the mind are not relevant to the disease or its cure
Therapy = treatment = the mode of therapy is a direct physical intervention to
restore the person’s healthy, well-ordered state
The key feature of this model is that the cure works WITH OR WITHOUT
KNOWLEDGE OR ASSISTANCE OF THE PATIENT. The cure is purely
physical and not affected by the thoughts or emotional state of the person being
treated. This traditional model has the following characteristics:
The model has one-way causation
. The pathogen acts on the host and not
the other way around
The disease is a physiological process
, and treatment operates on the
physiology of the person to alter the disease state
Therefore, the model is nonhierarchical
, meaning that different levels of
complexity in the system, particularly higher nervous system controls
related to thoughts and emotions, do not interact with each other
As a result, the model is dualistic
. The mental status of the person is
incidental to the cause of the disease and its cure. The mind and the body
exist in different realms in this framework, and there is no strong basis for
considering how they might work together for the person’s well-being
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Document Summary

The mind-body problem is one of the fundamental philosophical and scientific issues in human knowledge. The cartesian idea (the standard biomedical model goes like this: disease is a linearly causal process, a condition of the living animalor one of its parts that impairs the performance of a vital function. (in other words, disease is disorder in an otherwise smooth-running machine) (the cure is to disrupt the causative agent at the physical level to help the machine repair itself, restore order, and regain normal function. Finally, in the strong form of this model, following our western tradition the workings of the mind are not relevant to the disease or its cure. Therapy = treatment = the mode of therapy is a direct physical intervention to restore the person"s healthy, well-ordered state. The key feature of this model is that the cure works with or without.

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