Influence of William of Ockham on the History of Psychology
William of Ockham commonly referred to as William of Occam and William Ockham was an English philosopher during the fourteenth century (Kilma, 2015). William is perceived as one of the primary figures behind the conceptualization of medieval thought. He was involved in major political and intellectual disputations of the fourteenth century. Ockham is widely known for Occam’s razor; this is a methodological theory that carry’s his name. During his time, William made significant contributions to the history of psychology through his various philosophical thoughts. William is widely recognized as a pioneer of the conceptualization of nominalism (Kilma, 2015). He is also regarded as the father of contemporary epistemology. With regards to epistemology, Ockham presented a strong argument based on the existence of individuals. In his argument, he states that only people exist as opposed to supra-individual forms, essences, or universals (Kilma, 2015). William Ockham also claimed that universals are as a result of abstraction from human beings by the human mind and therefore, lack the extra-mental existent.
He supported ontology reduction and opposed metaphysical universals’ actual existence (Van, 2014). He perceived metaphysical universals as an object that in reality, does not exist in the actual world. He considered metaphysical universals as internal representations, an upshot of the human understanding, and a reflective action of the human mind (Van, 2014). Another significant contribution to the history of psychology by Ockham was the concept of efficient reasoning; this concept was based on the parsimony principle (Van, 2014). He argued that an individual ought to opt for a reason regarding the fewest probable variables, factors, or causes at all times. He, therefore, failed to acknowledge the sufficient reason theory, opposed the difference amid existence and essence and rejected the Thomistic belief of passive and active intellect. With regards to the theory of knowledge, Ockham objected the scholastic species principle terming it as unnecessary and claiming that it has not been supported by human experience. He advocated the abstraction theory. Additionally, William differentiated amid abstract cognition and intuitive cognition. He argued that intuitive cognition is based on the non-existence or existence of an object while abstractive cognition relies on the existence of an object (Van, 2014). Thomas Hobbes’ work served as a foundation for the theories of realism in international relations.
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An Overview of Thomas Hobbes’ Laws of Social Life
The social contract theory is a model coined in the Age of Enlightenment, and it incorporates issues regarding the legality of the state’s authority over the authority of an individual (Dyzenhaus & Poole, 2012). The theories of social contract postulate that people have settled either tacitly or explicitly to give up their certain rights and yield to a ruler's authority in reciprocity for the protection of their other rights. Thomas Hobbes was the first contemporary philosopher to establish a comprehensive contract theory or principle (Dyzenhaus & Poole, 2012). According to Thomas, in the state of nature, individuals’ lives were short, brutish, nasty, and solitary; this was a state in which egotism and the lack of contracts and rights prevented the society. Life in the society was without the conceptualization of sovereignty or leadership (anarchic). People in the natural state were asocial and apolitical; this particular nature state is succeeded by social contract.
The social contract was a state in which people merged and conceded some of their respective rights or entitlements so that other individuals would concede theirs (Dyzenhous & Poole, 2012). Social contract resulted in the development of a sovereign entity, a state which would enact regulations to govern social interactions. The life of human beings was, therefore, no longer a battle of all versus all. However, the state system that developed due to social contract became anarchic. States, therefore, acted in their selfishness in rivalry with each other. Synonymous to the natural state, states were destined to have disputes since there was no supreme ruler above and over the state with the ability to impose an effective administrative system, for instance, social contract regulations on every individual by force (Dyzenhous & Poole, 2012).
Romantic Revolt and its effects on Psychology
The romantic revolt commonly referred to as the romantic era or romanticism was an intellectual, musical, literary, and artistic movement brought about by the retaliation against the Age of Enlightenment (Mansouri & Keshavarzi, 2014). The romantic revolt began in Europe during the late eighteenth century, and amid 1800 and 1850, the movement reached its peak in many regions. The romantic revolution was typified by its insistence on the concept of individualism and emotion as well as the aggrandizement of nature and the past, thereby, showing preference to the medieval as opposed to the classical way of life. The romantic revolt was partially a response to the Industrial Revolution, the patrician political and social standards of the Enlightenment Age and the scientific justification of nature, all elements of modernity (Mansouri & Keshavarzi, 2014). The romantic revolt was strongly consolidated in literature, music, and visual arts.
However, it had a primary influence on natural sciences, social sciences, education, and historiography. Romanticism also had an important and complex impact on politics, with romantics impacting nationalism, conservatism, radicalism, and liberalism. The romantic revolt impacted psychology in the sense that it accentuated extreme emotion as a legitimate wellspring of aesthetic encounter, thereby, placing a significant emphasis on various emotions, for instance, awe, horror and terror, and apprehension particularly the emotions experienced when confronting multiple aesthetic classes of nature's beauty and sublimity (Mnsouri & Keshavarzi, 2014). Contrary to classicism and rationalism of the Enlightenment, the romantic revolt brought about the aspect of medievalism and the components of narrative and art initially perceived as legitimately medieval to avoid industrialism, the early urban sprawl, and populace growth. The romantic revolt aggrandized the aspect of individual imagination as a crucial right free from various classical beliefs. People resorted to various natural and historical inevitability when presenting their ideas.
References
Dyzenhaus, D., & Poole, T. (2012). Hobbes and the law . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Klima, G. (2015). Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy . New York: Fordham University Press
Mansouri, M., & Keshavarzi, V. (2014). Spirituality, a Conceptual Break: The Romantic Revolt and the Rise of a New Spirituality. International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society , 4(1), 11–16.
Van, B. H. A. (2014). Explorations in the history of psychology: Persisting themata and changing paradigms. Sioux Center, IA: Dordt College Press.
