Philosophical Background
❖ The origins of psychology begin with the Greek philosophers, around 500 BCE.
❖ Plato established one of the ûrst schools in Greece and was follower of
socrates
Plato was a nativist, believing the aspects of a person's character and
intelligence are innate and present at birth.
❖ Aristotle studied under plato and was a tutor of Alexander the great.
Aristotle was an empiricist, arguing that everything we know comes from our
experiences and our environment.
❖ Sir Francis Bacon, <the father of Empiricism=, was inüuential in
describing the scientiûc method in the late 1500’s.
❖ Rene Descartes was a French philosopher who developed a theory to explain
reüex movements.
Descartes proposed that internal <threads= run throughout our bodies to
control behavior without conscious thought.
❖ John Locke was a philosopher who lived in england during the late 1600’s
Locke was leader among the british empiricist philosophers during the time
period called the enlightenment.
Locke argued that at birth the mind is a tabula rasa, which is latin for <Blank
slate=
❖ The origins of psychology begin with the Greek philosophers, around 500 BCE.
❖ Plato established one of the ûrst schools in Greece and was follower of
socrates
Plato was a nativist, believing the aspects of a person's character and
intelligence are innate and present at birth.
❖ Aristotle studied under plato and was a tutor of Alexander the great.
Aristotle was an empiricist, arguing that everything we know comes from our
experiences and our environment.
❖ Sir Francis Bacon, <the father of Empiricism=, was inüuential in
describing the scientiûc method in the late 1500’s.
❖ Rene Descartes was a French philosopher who developed a theory to explain
reüex movements.
Descartes proposed that internal <threads= run throughout our bodies to
control behavior without conscious thought.
❖ John Locke was a philosopher who lived in england during the late 1600’s
Locke was leader among the british empiricist philosophers during the time
period called the enlightenment.
Locke argued that at birth the mind is a tabula rasa, which is latin for <Blank
slate=
