Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.

Fascination with mental processes such as memory, imagination, reasoning, and the human ability to tell lies, can be traced back to the ancient philosophers, such as Aristotle. For most of history the idea of ‘mind’ was intimately connected to some version of a soul and a metaphysical moral system both in the Christian and Eastern traditions. However, with the rise of the social sciences in the 19th century, the challenge turned to producing a science of the mind. This ten-week course will cover the discovery/invention of the unconscious by Freud, Jung and others in psychoanalysis; behaviourism in its various forms; developmental psychology; evolutionary psychology; and clinical psychology, including CBT.

Aims

The aim of the course is to give participants new perspectives on the workings of the mind and human psychological states. These perspectives can be used as tools to think through personal issues, social situations, and cultural/political issues. The class itself is a social think-tank and attendees are encouraged to use their experiences as class material to examine our shared psychological states.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• understand key concepts in the philosophy of psychology, its history and development
• recognise your gained insights into the human condition as expressed by our thought patterns, language development, intentionality, creativity and much more
• participate in a shared discussion and analysis of the most important ideas in the philosophy of the mind
• relate these ideas to your personal life, social and relationship situations, and broader cultural issues.

Content

Beginnings: Wundt and James

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) one of the founders of modern psychology, distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and biology. He was the first person to call himself a psychologist and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. The American William James (1842-1910) developed an approach which came to be known as functionalism. James argued that the mind is constantly changing, and it is pointless to look for the structure of conscious experience. Rather, he proposed the focus should be on how and why an organism does something – that is, the functions or purpose of the brain. James suggested that psychologists should look for the underlying cause of behaviour and the mental processes involved.

Psychoanalysis and the unconscious: Freud and Jung

In April 1906 Freud began correspondence with the young psychiatrist, Carl Jung. They later met in person when Jung travelled to Vienna in 1907, and the two men became fast friends. Their first meeting alone lasted twelve hours. We will compare and contrast their views on the nature and function of the unconscious mind. We will consider Freud’s three-part model of the mind and Jung’s Collective Unconscious.

Behaviourism

Behaviourism emerged around the 1910s and 1920s with John Broadus Watson’s work, it gained prominence with B.F. Skinner in the 1930s and 1940s. This perspective emphasises observable behaviours and the environment’s role in psychological states.

Social and developmental psychology

Social psychology examines how social interactions, relationships, and group dynamics influence behaviour and cognition. Developmental psychology studies the perceptual, cognitive, and numerical abilities of infants and traced their developmental course, while others focused on life-span development and mental and behavioural changes in the aging process.

Evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary psychologists ask: What are the implications of human evolutionary history for the design of the human mind. Evolutionarily informed research has suggested that brains are composed of a number of specialised domain-specific mechanisms. For example, birds use different memory systems and different rules for remembering species song, the taste of poisonous food, and locations of food caches.

Clinical psychology

The four main goals of clinical psychology are to describe, explain, predict and to change the mental processes and behaviour of those undertaking the therapeutic process. Some examples we will study are: Personal construct psychology and cognitive-behaviour therapy. CBT focuses on identifying and changing negative, inaccurate, or otherwise maladaptive beliefs and thought patterns through a combination of cognitive and behaviour therapy.

Psychology of personality traits

One of the most prominent theories of personality is the five-factor model (FFM): Openness to experience; Conscientiousness; Extroversion; Agreeableness; and Neuroticism. Despite all of its popular success, the five-factor model remains controversial with a number of scholars. One issue concerns the absence of a comprehensive theory. The lexical hypothesis, while intriguing, is regarded by some as far too narrow to qualify as a theory of personality.

Intended audience

Anyone with a general interest in philosophy and the course themes.

Prerequisites

None

Delivery style

Lecture/seminar

Materials

Course handouts and readings are distributed electronically using Dropbox.

Recommended reading

Some referenced works include:

Burton, L. Weston, D. Kowalski, R. (authors). 2023. Psychology. Australian and New Zealand Edition. Wiley.

Braucher, David, 2020. The Unconscious: Contemporary Refractions in Psychoanalysis. Routledge.

Margolis, J. 2008. Philosophy of Psychology. Prentice-Hall foundations of philosophy.

Symons, John. Calvo, Paco (eds) 2018. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Psychology.