Midterm

Ideas on the Midterm

Theories of the Mind

·       Descartes’ “I”

·       Freud’s Model of the Mind and Model of Personality

·       Virginia Woolf and the idea of the fractured self

Theories of Human Nature

·       The Blank Slate

·       Biological Determinism

The Mind-Body Connection

·       Walt Whitman Poetry

Language

·       Gertrude Stein

·       ideas of the connection between language and thought

Social Contract Theory

·       Socrates, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau

Social Cohesion

·       Reasons we conform

Evolutionary Psych

·       Natural Selection

·       Sexual Selection

Innate Differences?

·       Prejudice and Discrimination

·       Intelligence

At least one of the following questions will appear as an essay on the exam:

1.     Compare the State of Nature as envisioned by Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. How do these different visions of human nature lead to different visions of society?

2.     Describe Freud’s concept of the unconscious mind. Which theory of human nature does this concept most support? Explain.

3.     A key component of the theory of natural selection is that there is no ultimate goal in evolution. What is meant by this?

4.     Dr. Mike Knight conveyed the meaning of life to Dr. Vaughn, who then conveyed it to you. What is it?

5.     Define telegraphic speech and provide an example of it.

6.     From the video Secrets of the Mind, Dr. Ramachandran states that our idea of self is nothing more than a construction of our minds.  Do you agree or disagree?  Support your opinion with information from lecture and readings.

7.     Lehrer states that, according to Whitman, we do not simply have a body but are a body. What is the significance of this statement? Support your answer with information from lecture and readings.