Descartes Influence on Psychology - 926 Words

Running head: DESCARTES INFLUENCE ON PSYCHOLOGY Descartes Influence on Psychology DESCARTES INFLUENCE ON PSYCHOLOGY Renà © Descartes was a famous French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher throughout the mid 1600’s. He is often regarded as the father of modern philosophy; however, his highly influential ideas have also impacted many other scientific fields, including the world of psychology. Descartes contributions in philosophy and biology have had a significant influence on modern psychology. He introduced new theories about the mind and the body that, while not always correct, undoubtedly changed peoples’ views and sparked a whole new approach to looking at the mind. There is one thing Descartes knew for certain,†¦show more content†¦It can also be argued that these contributions paved the path for modern behavioral psychology and more specifically the concept of stimulus-response. This type of psychology focuses on how people behave. Modern behavioral psychologists test this idea that the brain in responsible for behavior and thinking by manipulating situations and studying reactions. Descartes had a very mechanistic view of the brain. He believed the body works similar to machines as it is material and follows laws of physics. He suggests that mind and body interact at the pineal gland. He predicted that there are tube-like structures inside our bodies that tighten under DESCARTES INFLUENCE ON PSYCHOLOGY certain conditions and allow fluid, what we know today as cerebrospinal fluid, to spill through, causing a reaction. While we know today that his predictions were essentially incorrect, his research influenced other to explore the way in which in the mind works. Descartes did a lot of his studies about biology by using animals, just as many researchers in psychology do today. He opened up the possibility of using animals as subjects in comparison to humans by looking at both their anatomy and behavior. Descartes research sparked of a lot of attention. There were people in opposition to Descartes and others who took his ideas further to discover the truth. Much of his work has since been discredited; however, it is because of him that so manyShow MoreRelatedsituation in ethic Essay1383 Words   |  6 Pages The Influences of early psychological though of Physiology and philosophy Cleo Jones History of Psychology Abstract Physiology is a branch of biology that deals with life and living matter according to (Webster Merriam) Physiology is the processes and function of all or part of an organ. 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