SAMPLE "C" AND "A" BRIEF ESSAYS
Read both these student essays written in response to the same question. Both are "good," but the second provides a more in-depth analysis of the issue, thus netting the "A" grade.
1) Why was Descartes’ definition of mind important for what happened next in moving toward the development of "psychology"?
Descartes introduced a new definition of mind that allowed for new developments and theories in psychology. It helped push psychology towards empiricism as well as the theories of determinism, reductionism, and mentalism.
Prior to Descartes, it was a common belief that the mind and the body only worked one way; the mind told the body what to do, but the body had no input on the brain. Descartes introduced a new idea that the mind not only communicated with the body, but the body also communicated with the mind. He also introduced the new idea of two types of ideas; derived and innate. Derived ideas were those thought processes that were directly influenced by an external stimulus. Innate ideas were those that were completely a mental process, not caused by an external stimulus.
In the theory of determinism, acts are influenced by past events. This theory would not have been logical without the dualistic approach of thinking that Descartes introduced. It is necessary that the body be able to communicate with the mind in order for this theory to work.
The theory of reductionism states that all complex machines can be broken down into simple parts. This came right along chronologically with the invention of the clock. It became a common view that the mind, the body, and even the universe were all complex machines. The idea of reductionism pushed towards understanding how the mind could be broken up and studied. This great step in psychology would not have been possible if not for Descartes new theories about the mind and the body.
George Berkeley introduced an idea called mentalism. This theory stated that the mental function of knowledge was directly associated with the perception and the experiences of the individual. This theory directly stemmed from Descartes theory of the body influencing the mind. This theory of mentalism still directly affects the ideas of mental processes in modern psychology.
Overall, Descartes introduced ideas that are the basis for the new ideas that came directly after him. His ideas are the framework for the psychology that has developed over the last 400 years. Without these ideas, the understanding we have now of the mind body relationship would be much different.
COMMENT:
The essay presents the right factual information and is an accurate summary of main points, but fails to provide analysis regarding how or why Descartes’ ideas have had an impact—just simply states that they did.
1)
Why was Descartes’ definition of mind important for what happened
next in moving toward the development of "psychology"?
It can be argued that all events in history are a reaction to previous events. This is the source of Descartes influence on psychology. In a time where the mind had been thought a “puppeteer” pulling the strings of the body, Descartes took a radical stance and challenged the old concepts. By theorizing that the body and mind interact with each other and that it is the body, not the mind that is responsible for many of the life functions, Descartes forever changed the way in which the mind would be studied. This view lent greater support to the objective rather than metaphysical study of the mind, and laid the foundation for empiricism, moving from abstract to scientific. Descartes loose nonphysical definition of the mind further shaped what would happen next in psychology by causing a groundbreaking reaction against this dualist approach by later philosophers.
According
to Descartes, the mind was responsible for thinking processes, and
everything else was a function of the body including movements.
The way he defined the mind allowed for the idea that some
movements were not the direct result of a conscious action, but rather
these movements were the result of a reflexive action, helped set the
course for later psychology movements such as behavioral stimulus-response
psychology.
From Descartes’ definition of the mind came his doctrine of ideas. Derived ideas come from sensory experiences, whereas innate ideas develop from the mind. These ideas later helped form the theory of perception and influenced the Gestalt school of psychology. This also had the added effect of inspiring opposition from early empiricists who unlike Descartes held that the mind was shaped by experience. These philosophers such as Locke would reject “innate ideas”, thus stimulating theories on how the mind acquires knowledge, a central theme in later philosophical movements.
It
is the interaction of the mind and the body however, that was most
influential for what happened next in the development of psychology.
Descartes believed that the mind and body interaction took place
inside the conarium, a single and unitary structure of the brain. This
belief forever made the brain the point of the mind’s function.
This, I would argue, greatly affected following movements,
especially physiological. Broca,
Fritsch, Hitzig, and entire fields of study would later concern themselves
with the brain, extensively studying and mapping the numerous structures
and linking them to corresponding functions.
Descartes used mechanistic terms to describe the interaction.
This approach was carried into the later philosophical movements of
Hume, Hartley and taken to the extreme by James Mill.
By localizing the soul's contact with body in the pineal gland,
Descartes had raised the question of the relationship of mind to the brain
and nervous system. His
definition of mind helped influence mechanism, and therefore had a
significant future influence on the study of the nervous system,
influencing the theories of Hartley, Galvani, and eventually Helmholtz who
were interested in how nerves carry information to the mind similar to
Descartes concept of “animal spirits”.
COMMENT:
While also stating the ‘facts,’ this essay properly places Descartes and his ideas into the context of his time and analyzes the impact of his ideas in relation to that time. Speculation is provided—and supported—going beyond the text material and how/why information is provided about impact on future theorists and the field.
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