Psychology
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In Boeree’s (2006) The History of Psychology: Part Two: The Rebirth, it allows the
reader perspective on psychology’s history involving, the middle ages, the enlightenment and
ethics (pp. 1-73). The reading beginnings with the Dark Ages, that occurred after Rome had
fallen (p. 4). Life during this period was described as, “the powerful ruled, while the powerless
looked only to survive” (p. 4). Charlemagne helped the Dark Ages to help rebuild stability to
Europe, with Church (p. 4).
During the Middle Ages, universities became widely develop. They taught a variety of
classes ranging from, grammar (p. 4), Latin (p. 4), logic (p. 4), and speech (p. 4). Liberal arts
courses were studied such as, music (p. 4), astronomy (p. 4), geometry (p. 4), and arithmetic (p.
4). Universities had trouble when numerous attendants questioned true meanings behind words
(p. 5). One person who questioned universities was St. Anselm of Canterbury (p. 5). St. Anselm
questioned realism amongst universities which was one of Plato’s theories. St. Anselm of
Canterbury was ambitious to prove that God existed (p. 5).
Averroes of Cordova was an Islamic philosopher that had other career paths which made
him versatile such as a lawyer (p. 7), chief justice (p. 7), and physician (p. 7). He wrote the
medicine encyclopedia and was the first to inform people what is a retina and its purpose (p. 7).
The retina is an aspect of psychology involving the eyeball and the perception of objects.
St. Thomas attended the University of Naples (p. 8). He shared similar beliefs with
Aristotle’s (p. 8). His schooling led him to feel passionate on studying to become a monk, even if
his mother did not agree with this choice (p. 8). He had strong beliefs on the body and soul
which led him to his five faculties of the soul. The vegetative faculty (p. 8), the sensitive faculty
(p. 9), the locomotor faulty (p. 9), the appetitive faculty (p. 9), and the intellectual faculty (p. 9).
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In the Beginning of Modern Philosophy, rebuilding of buildings and the economy began
to take place (p. 15). Humanism is introduced as, “meaning an interest in or focus on human
beings and their well-being, here and now…” (p. 15). I believe this interest of humanism is a part
of psychology, of a person’s well-being mentally. Boeree (2006), felt that after the ancient’s
Greek (p.16) Niccolo Machiavelli, should be recognized as the first social psychologist (p. 16).
Social psychology is one of the several branches in the field of psychology.
In 1492, mathematics was further developing from where it had started in Part One: The
Ancients Boeree (2006). Francis Pellos invented the decimal point (p. 17), for research today in
psychology the decimal point is strongly used in statistics. In 1553, science was discovering how
to explain the circulation of blood, which helps any field that studies the body to understand a
vital part of how humans survive (p. 17). In 1595, the microscope was invented which took any
research in this era to new possibility’s (p. 17).
Francis Bacon, wrote a novel, Novum Organum, it discussed the form of logically
thinking and proposed that there might be a new way to logically think (p. 18). Bacon believed
that we used induction when logically thinking (p.18). Induction and deduction are vocabulary
that is discussed in psychology classes today. Ethics in psychology is described as studying what
is right from wrong (p. 67). Ethics is strongly applied in the field of psychology when research is
being ran.
John Locke, studied at Oxford where he earned a master’s degree (p. 40). His
psychological work was called, Essay concerning Human Understanding (p. 40). In his work,
this piece discussed the theory of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ being in us from childhood (p. 40). Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibniz, contributed his part in psychology by reworking Locke’s piece and calling it,
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New Essays on Human Understanding (p. 42). He argues against Locke’s theory that our mind is
not a blank state but instead our mind works on experience (p. 42).
In Part Two: The Rebirth Boeree (2006), the reader is consumed with knowledge, facts,
terms, and the birth of new or reworked theory’s that influence psychology today. A common
theme that Boeree (2006) kept touching upon was ‘free will’ and ‘freedom’ (pp. 1-73).
John Comenius’s section of quotes caught my attention, he had quotes about education
for everyone (p. 28), learning is natural (p. 28), learning by easy steps (p. 28), play (p. 28),
lifelong learning (p. 29), and humanity (p. 29). The quotes on this page kept implying people
should be equal, if you’re a boy or girl, rich or poor, and we should all be ‘free’. Comenius was
the first person to write a textbook and have it be printed (p. 22). He was a bishop that strongly
believed in education for anyone willing to learn (p. 22).
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The quote from Boeree (2006) for my meme included what Comenius had stated about
humanity, “We are all citizens of one world, we are all of one blood. To hate a man because he
was born in another country, because he speaks a different language, or because he takes a
different view on this subject or that, is a great folly” (p. 29). Comenius is trying to describe a
freedom and equality that countries including our own still is struggling to allow.
The image used for my meme, I found when I searched under nature on
www.imgflip.com. I had searched previously many different words but most of the images
weren’t what I felt fit this meaningful quote. The women is a symbol of ‘Mother Nature’, and
everything around her symbolizes how beautiful the world can be. There are white doves flying
which represent freedom. There are flowers with butterflies followed by vibrant colors that catch
your eye at the first glance. The earth is in the mist of the colorful scheme in the background.
After all the positive features in the picture, there is a dark side to it which illustrates how the
world isn’t a place full of freedom and peace. There is a dark wing attached to her back which
symbolizes that not everyone is free or equal.
There were two sections in Part Two: The Rebirth Boeree (2006), which I felt presented
how unequal women were to men. There was a section referred as the, Declaration of the Rights
of Man, and it was approved by the assembly of France (p. 63). The first right declares, “Men are
born and remain free and equal in rights…” (p. 63). After this statement, it sets the tone of how
men were treated with ‘freedom’ and ‘rights’. After reading this section a name I remember from
a previous undergrad course, Woman Psychology, Mary Wollstonecraft (p. 65). Her title is A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman, she expresses in this passage how woman are similar to
slaves that they do not have freedom or rights (p. 65). Wollstonecraft expresses, “…it cannot be
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demonstrated that woman is essentially inferior to man because she has always be subjugated”
(p. 65).
Comenius in the era of 1592-1670, believed in education for everyone, he felt the active
mind was one of the most beautiful aspects of life (p. 23). His quote on humanity inspires how he
is describing a pure equality, it is a rare outlook for this era.
References
Boeree G. C. (2006). The History of Psychology Part Two; The Rebirth. Boeree, C. G. (2006)
(pp. 1-73).
Staub L. R. (2015). Equality Boeree (2006, p. 29) on Comenius Equality. Quote from Boeree, C.
G. (2006). The History of Psychology Part Two; The Rebirth. (pp. 1-73). Retrieved on
September 14, 2015 fromhttp://www.socialpsychology.de/do/history_II.pdf Photograph.
Retrieved on September 14, 2015 from https://imgflip.com/i/r1i79