Compare and contrast the significance for psychology of...

Compare and contrast the significance for psychology of Descartes and Kant Descartes and Kant, both of them are famous philosophers and they are well known for their contributions to philosophy. At the same time, they have great influence on the development of psychology. I am going to compare their significance of psychology. By observing some mechanical things, Descartes had an idea that human and animal work like automata. (Klein, 1970) This idea became a basic concept of Descartes’ theories of the brain and visual perception. He thought that the human mind and body were separate from each other.†¦show more content†¦To Descartes, this was pineal body which is located roughly in the centre of the brain, near the thalamus. He thought that the soul resided in pineal body. (Klein, 1970) Descartes mentioned that the soul â€Å"is of a nature entirely independent of the body, and consequently not liable to die with body.†(Klein, 1970, p.349) Descartes posited the existence of soul. However, Kant believed that all observation is observation of phenomena. The substantiality of soul is never observed. (Klein, 1970) Kant said â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦so far as I think myself, it is really impossible by that simple self-consciousness to determine the manner in which I exist, whatever as substan ce or as an accident. Thus, if materialism was inadequate to explain my existence, spiritualism is equally insufficient for that purpose, and the conclusion is, that, in no way whatsoever can we know anything of the nature of our soul, so far as the possibility of its separate existence is concerned.† (Klein, 1970, p.493) Kant concluded that human knew nothing about their soul and it cannot be studied by any scientific methods, while Descartes posited the existence of soul and know the real location where the soul resided. Descartes stated some theory of perception and let people know how things can be perceived. This is a profound impact on psychology. Descartes was a rationalist. One of the tenets of Rationalism stated that senses deceive and do not trust them. (Klein, 1970)Show MoreRelatedExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 Pagesamp; Phenomenology * Existentialist Philosophers * ------------------------------------------------- Absurdism * The idea of the  absurd  is a common theme in many existentialist works, particularly in  Camus. Absurdity is the notion of contrast between two things. As Camus explains it in  The Myth of Sisyphus: * The absurd is born out of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world. * This view, which is shared by  Sartre, is that humanity mustRead MoreHerbert Spencer Essay13142 Words   |  53 Pagessufficiently complete to live, they do live, and it is well they should live. If they are not sufficiently complete to live, they die, and it is best they should die. Spencer systematically tried to establish the basis of a scientific study of education, psychology, sociology, and ethics from an evolutionary point of view. Although many of his specific ideas are no longer fashionable, Spencer went a long way in helping to establish the separate existence of sociology as a social science. His idea of evolutionary