Modern Philosophy Essay

Herman Ebbinghaus has pointed out that psychology and philosophy are intertwined one style or the other. In order for Psychologists to study human behavior, as substantially as metal serve up, they must go step back and consider being philosophical. One must be rational and logical when studying this process and behavior, thus going back to psychologys root. Towards the end of the Renaissance period, Rene Descartes emerged and was tagged as the father of Modern Philosophy.As mentioned, Philosophy and Psychology do work hand in hand in analyzing human behavior. Descartes ideas were formed when he said that he found formal education with the Jesuits was non enough to apply his thirst for knowledge and distraught on the lack of knowledge that was fed to him during his college or scholastic days. Because of this he opted to explore and find things out on his own. Descartes intemperate desire to get answers and fill his doubts with facts and certainties he spent his time finding wa ys to unite all knowledge.Though a philosopher, he for example, he feature his interests in optics and physiology by extracting the eye of an ox and examining the properties of the lens, thereby discovering the fact that retinal images are inverted (as cited, Vrooman, 1970). Descartes had four rules First, he would accept nothing as unfeigned unless it presented itself so clearly and distinctly to my mind that there was no reason to doubt it (Descartes, 1637/1960, p. 15). Second, he would take problems and analyze them, reducing them to their fundamental elements.Third, he would systematically work from the simplest of these elements to the more complex, and fourth, he would carefully review his conclusions to be certain of omitting nothing. As a rationalist, he has said that reasoning is innate in humans. The readiness to think and put logic and into, perhaps a situation or event in a persons life is something that is natural and that plurality do not rely on just experience. People are given the gift to think and make decisions, and these are made and achieved because of mans ability to rationalize and think logically.Because he was a scientist and a mathematician, he believed that one must doubt on things that has no basis and can not be explained. Cognitive Psychology deals with mental process or the mental state of a person. For instance, studying or analyzing the mental state of a child. correspond to Jean Piaget, a persons mental growth had education as a key role in a childs mental development. It is said that, it is our teachers or mentors that one develops his perception and thinking, among others. In relation to Ebbinghaus study of Memory and Forgetting, experiments have been made in order to analyze a persons capability to memorize and forget.With the help of research and methodology, and Ebbinghaus invention of some tests for memory retention, we begin to understand how memory works and improved. What stuck me most on Watsons manifesto is h is strong point and statement that mans behavior or contribution has been applied to different facets of life and education. Upon reading this, I realized I believed and agree to his principles and view. Psychology is about behavior and a persons behavior is linked to how he thinks. There is an array of reasons why a person acts or exiles in a certain way.This whitethorn be contributed by life experiences, family background, culture or influences of peers. A person may act differently because of their beliefs as well and their way of living. Behavior is also an expression of ones feelings and emotions. An art fanatic or an artist may act differently or a little bit off the edge, but to them, their behavior and ways are but normal and they are exclusively expressing themselves, with the way they talk, dress or even walk. Another example is a persons cultural beliefs and practices. Because people emerged and come from different races and cultures, they act and behave differently.Cu ltural beliefs are formed in our minds at very young age. These were passed on to us by our parent or ancestors. And from that very young age, bowl the time that we grow old, those teachings will remain if not in our hearts but in our subconscious. Even though we move away from our birthplace, one way or the other, in spite the influence of the todays generation and the ever so changing world, we still go back to our own roots and ways. References (N. A. ). DESCARTES THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE (N. A.). Chapter 10 JOHN B. WATSONAND THE FOUNDING OF BEHAVIORISM