These arguments in philosophy would later lead to important advancements in the 19th century by Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke. Supporters of nativism included Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher who argued that the human mind creates the structure of human experience and that the world (as it is) is independent of humanity’s perception of it. Supporters of empiricist views included philosophers such as George Berkeley, an Irish bishop who denied the existence of material substance, suggesting instead that the objects we interact with are only ideas in the minds of the perceivers, and John Locke, an English philosopher who founded the study of theory of mind which lead to modern conceptions of identity and the self. From Descartes’ theories in the 16th century, major debates formed on whether human thought is created solely through the stimulation of our sense organs (empiricism) or whether we are born with innate knowledge which allows us to form language and maintain conscious experience (nativism). This theory was known as substance dualism. COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY – A BRIEF HISTORYĪlthough discussions and descriptions of thought processes date back millennia to societies such as the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Maya, the formal scientific study of cognition is relatively new, growing out of philosophical debates including Rene Descartes’ 16th century argument suggesting humans are born with innate knowledge and the that the mind and body reflect two different entities. Scientists who study cognition are searching for ways to understand how we integrate, organize, and utilize our conscious cognitive experiences without being aware of all of the unconscious work that our brains are doing (for example, Kahneman, 2011). Simply put, cognition is thinking, and it encompasses the processes associated with perception, knowledge, problem-solving, judgment, language, and memory. There are facets to the multitude of complex processes involved in human cognition and what we understand about animal thought processes. The infinite amount of sub-routines we organize every day to make up larger behaviors such as driving, operating machinery, participating in sports or even holding conversations (all relatively new behaviors in terms of the evolution of a species) go unnoticed but together allow us to navigate our environment safely and efficiently. Yet, you don’t notice most of your brain’s activity as you move throughout your daily routine. How is it possible that the brain is able to move from one thought to the next in an organized, orderly fashion? The brain is endlessly perceiving, processing, planning, organizing, and remembering-it is always active. Imagine all of your thoughts as if they were physical entities, swirling rapidly inside your mind. Explain the difference between natural and artificial concepts. By the end of this section, you will be able to:
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