[Week 11] SELF EVALUATION

1. What score do you think you deserve?
2 points because I followed the form of persuasive essay well and gave rich supporting evidences and ideas. Also, My conclusion has a sense of disclosure which can make people agree with me.


2. What did you do well and what could you do better?
a) First, I think that I did persuade people to agree with my thesis in creative way because I suggested the limitation of behaviorism by giving the limitation of positivism. Second, I suggested rich evidences which show the limitation of behaviorism. Third, I suggested the alternative of behaviorism which can help psychologists to understand inner mechanism such as dream more completely.

b) I think that I repeated my thesis too much in my 1st draft. I will remove logical surplus in my essay and make my essay simpler and more logical.


3 .Which part of the classical argument did you use the best? Which part could be improved?
a) I think that my confirmation is the strongest part in my 1st draft because I gave various persuasive and logical supporting ideas.

b) I think that my introduction should be improved because my introduction used only boring saying to grab audience. Only this way can't grab the audience enough.


4. what's your strategy for your next draft?
a) Make more creative attention grabber in introduction
b) Write concession.
c) Remove repeated part in my essay and make draft more logical and simpler.
d) Emphasis my alternative - neobehaviorism.

+1st Draft+

No Man's Knowledge Here Can Go Beyond His Experience." / John Locke

 All scholars prove their hypothesis and discover academic facts by their empirical research and discovery. Even proving philosophical truth by logic, the process of proving itself is one kind of empirical found. So, human's researching and understanding toward the world cannot help by being narrow because there are some mysterious secrets which cannot be realized by human's experience such as absolute truth in philosophy. However, positivism says that human can uncover all of secrets about the world only by science and technology. For example, behaviorists in psychology stated that psychologists should except invisible and abstract things such as desire to their research to study mind. Is it true? No, psychologists can't understand the human mind correctly only with one viewpoint – behavior.

 Science is defined as a field which are composed of assured and universal empirical found anyone can't refute. So to speak, science is 'universal' and based on 'experience'. Many psychologists argued that psychology should be a science. It's right statement because human mind has some universal pattern such as reinforcement and attachment but it is different from others'. So it is essential to categorize psychology as science to research the human's mind systemically. In fact, not only scholars who study humanities, but also scientists are studying human's mind especially the information processing. However, Many psychologists get their high horse, saying that they can prove all secrets related to human's mind with high technology such fMRI in 21C. Furthermore, Richard Dawkins, famous scientist, had confidence to human's originality by science in The Selfish Gene. In spite of this attitude, some awaken scholars realized that behaviorism which reflects this attitude the best in psychology cannot explain the human's mind. For example, these scholars refuted the behaviorists' opinion that behaviorists see all human's psychological mechanism as compensate and reinforcement like animals. So, I would try to refute the scholars who over-believe the power of behaviorism with suggesting the fatal error of positivism and actual case which shows that behaviorism is limited in psychology.

 There are many evidences which prove that behaviorism can't the whole mechanism of the human mind solely because early psychologists realized so. From now on, I will suggest many real examples in psychology and the limitation of positivism to support my idea.

 First, behaviorism only focuses on 'what human does'. For example, behaviorists set certain situation to make some response from the subjects and record what the subjects did. Skinner's reinforcement - box is the most representative case of this. Skinner only recorded the change of monkey's behavior, giving different stimuli and he stated that the change of behavior is caused by reinforcement. However, in psychology, it is important to reveal how reinforcement caused the change of behavior and influenced the human mind. Behaviorism can't explain this process. It only can find the change of behavior.

 Second, behaviorism depends on only empirical finding. Like this, positivism which focuses on visible evidence and scientific method of research like behaviorism depends on empirical experience. Although positivism revealed many phenomenon around us objectively, The world is filled with things we can't experience such as the universe, the God and the quantum mechanics. So, positivism was replaced by round sight to overcome this problem. Sociologists began to consider religion which cannot be explained by science as important element to explain the society and human. As, behaviorism is categorized in positivism, it is possible to say that psychologists should replace behaviorism by cognitive-biological approach which focuses on not only visible behavior and physiological process, but also the abstract, cognitive information processing to research abstract and invisible things in our mind such as consciousness.

 Third, behaviorism basically ignores basic diversity of the human mind. Originally, psychologists pay attention to find the universal pattern of the human mind because all people have different mind each other. However, as there are universal pattern in the human mind obviously, the academical field about the human mind can exist. However, behaviorism displays the humans mind in diagram form too much. For example, Chomsky's the theory of language acquisition which is representative example of behaviorism generalized every person's process of learning language. In fact, people learn language in various way. Also, behaviorism ignores human's case-by-case characteristic. In the same condition and stimuli, human's behavior and psychological mechanism can be different because of individual's characteristic and cognitive process. On the other hand, behaviorists try to apply same patterns about the human's mind to all people.

 People who over-believe the power of behaviorism think that they can understand all secrets of the human mind with behaviorism completely because many mysterious secrets of the human mind are proved by behaviorism. In their opinion, 'the human mind' in psychology is only measurable human behavior because psychology is one kind of science and the human mind is object of psychology. They consider the emotion, instinct and unconsciousness as the worthless things to research and except these things from the human mind. So, they argue that behaviorism can explain all of human mind. However, their topicality is wrong. According to Wilhelm Wundt, who was the pioneer of modern psychology, psychology is the field which study human's memory, emotion, desire, behavior, cognition, relationship and so on. Also, today's many psychologists study not only human's behavior, but also mechanism of emotions. Even if their topicality is right, behaviorism still cannot explain all mechanisms about the human mind because behaviorism can only show that it is possible to manipulate human's behavior by giving different stimuli. It cannot explain how that behavior can be lead from human's brain. So to speak, behaviorism can't reveal all secrets of the human mind in any case.

 It is hard to deny that behaviorism helped psychologists to prove most of secrets about human's behavior. For this reason, Tolman and Skinner have been considered as the great psychologists in the world. However, many psychologists are over-believing the power of behaviorism, stating that they can prove all secrets of the human mind with behaviorism. I think this attitude is scientists' arrogance. Actually, it is apparent that behaviorism cannot explain all mechanisms of the human mind because it only focuses on 'what human does', not 'how human's behaviors were lead', depends on empirical founding like positivism and ignores the diversity of human's characteristic and psychological feature. It is important to realize the limitation of behaviorism because there are many things which psychologists haven't proved yet. If psychologists continue to believe only behaviorism, psychology cannot advance and it will be limited to research only about human's behavior and its name will be replaced by 'behaviology'. The most important part of psychology is how certain psychological mechanism such as attachment, sexual desire and reinforcement can be lead. As these mechanisms are different to be explained only by science, psychologists should concentrate on other way such as instant hypnosis.  I wish to psychologists to admit the limitation of behaviorism and to try to develop other way to research invisible mechanism in our mind more effectively. Finishing this essay, I want to give one saying to psychologists.

I have just found shallfish in the ocean of truth. There are infinite truth we haven't found in the sea.

- Isaac Newton




 Source

www.simplypsychology.org
m.blog.daum.net/ilgwan
www.aboutpsychology.com
www.terms.naver.com
www.koreanpsychology.co.kr
www.youtube.com
Opening Skinner's Box (Lauren Slater, 2005)
Harvard Sampler (Steven Pinker, 2012)
Myers's Introduction of Psychology NEW EDITION (David. G. Myers, 2008)

[Week 10] CONCLUSION

I omitted my first draft of conclusion. Following paragraph is modified conclusion.


My Conclusion
It is hard to deny that behaviorism helped psychologists to prove most of secrets about human's behavior. For this reason, Tolman and Skinner have been considered as the great psychologists in the world. However, many psychologists are over-believing the power of behaviorism, stating that they can prove all secrets of the human mind with behaviorism. I think this attitude is scientists' arrogance. Actually, it is apparent that behaviorism cannot explain all mechanisms of the human mind because it only focuses on 'what human does', not 'how human's behaviors were lead', depends on empirical founding like positivism and ignores the diversity of human's characteristic and psychological feature. It is important to realize the limitation of behaviorism because there are many things which psychologists haven't proved yet. If psychologists continue to believe only behaviorism, psychology cannot advance and it will be limited to research only about human's behavior and its name will be replaced by 'behaviology'. The most important part of psychology is how certain psychological mechanism such as attachment, sexual desire and reinforcement can be lead. As these mechanisms are different to be explained only by science, psychologists should concentrate on other way such as instant hypnosis.  I wish to psychologists to admit the limitation of behaviorism and to try to develop other way to research invisible mechanism in our mind more effectively. Finishing this essay, I want to give one saying to psychologists.

I have just found shallfish in the ocean of truth. There are infinite truth we haven't found in the sea.
- Isaac Newton


-
blue : Narration
Green : Confirmation
Red : The importance of my thesis
Purple : The impact of my thesis

[Week 9] RESEARCH SET

I forgot to upload some research data in this blog.
So, I upload that data in this post.
I replace writing source of my research into linking actual html in the title of research.



a) Skinner's the Theory of Language Acquisition

Skinner said that the process of learning language is also stimuli - response - reinforcement model. However, Chomsky's hypothesis that human has innate ability to learn spoken language is more accurate because the model of evolution and historical record proved his hypothesis than Skinner's. It is the result of over-believing the power of behaviorism. Furthermore, it is fatal error to schematize human's learning processing because human's learning processes are different from each other.


b) The Father of Modern Psychology, Wilhelm Wundt

He was known today as one of the founding figures of modern psychology. Wundt, who noted psychology as a science apart from biology and philosophy, was the first person to ever call himself a Psychologist. He is widely regarded as the "father of experimental psychology. In 1879, Wundt founded the first formal laboratory for psychological research at the University of Leipzig. This marked psychology as an independent field of study.

So to speak, He was dual psychologists because he made psychology as science but also focused on cognition and consciousness' mechanism which are difficult to be explained by science.

c) Baccalaureat ; Can the research of unconsciousness be the science?

(I know that we should post research data in english. However, I would post this blog in Korean because it is worth to read about psychology's object)

[Week 9] REFUTATION & CONCESSION

1. What is My Thesis?
Psychologists cannot understand all mechanisms in the human mind with only behaviorism.


2. What is the Opposite Position?
Behaviorism can explain all of the human mind enough.


3. What Arguments can I Anticipate?
What is 'the human mind' in the psychology? the human mind is target to be studied by psychologists, so the human mind means only measurable and visible behavior, not abstract things which science cannot explain. So, behaviorism can explain all human's behavior.


4. How will I Counter Those Arguments?
At first, 'the human mind' doesn't mean only human's measurable behavior in psychology. According to Wilhelm Wundt considered as the father of Psychology, he defined psychology as the field which studies all kinds of human's behavior and emotion, cognitive process, memory, mental disease and so on. Second, if their topicality is right, behavior still can't explain their 'the human mind', because behaviorism can't show how certain stimuli can induce one's behavior. Behaviorism only can show us that it is possible to change human's behavior by giving different stimuli such as classical conditioning.


-

My Refutation & Concession
People who over-believe the power of behaviorism think that they can understand all secrets of the human mind with behaviorism completely because many mysterious secrets of the human mind are proved by behaviorism. In their opinion, 'the human mind' in psychology is only measurable human behavior because psychology is one kind of science and the human mind is object of psychology. They consider the emotion, instinct and unconsciousness as the worthless things to research and except these things from the human mind. So, they argue that behaviorism can explain all of human mind. However, their topicality is wrong. According to Wilhelm Wundt, who was the pioneer of modern psychology, psychology is the field which study human's memory, emotion, desire, behavior, cognition, relationship and so on. Also, today's many psychologists study not only human's behavior, but also mechanism of emotions. Even if their topicality is right, behaviorism still cannot explain all mechanisms about the human mind because behaviorism can only show that it is possible to manipulate human's behavior by giving different stimuli. It cannot explain how that behavior can be lead from human's brain. So to speak, behaviorism can't reveal all secrets of the human mind in any case.

[Week 8] CONFIRMATION

1. What is My Thesis?
Behaviorism can't explain the whole processing in the human mind.


2. What Types of Source Am I Using to Defend My Thesis?
I will use the actual case which reflects the limitation of behaviorism in psychology such as the Skinner's reinforcement - box. Also, I will suggest the error of positivism to make readers understand my intention more completely.


3. Are My Arguments Mostly Based on Evidence, Logic or Emotion?
My arguments are based on evidence. Many early psychologists realized that behaviorism is limited to explain the human's mind, so they researched this topic in the past. So, there are rich available to use.

-

My Confirmation
There are many evidences which prove that behaviorism can't the whole mechanism of the human mind solely because early psychologists realized so. From now on, I will suggest many real examples in psychology and the limitation of positivism to support my idea.
First, behaviorism only focuses on 'what human does'. For example, behaviorists set certain situation to make some response from the subjects and record what the subjects did. Skinner's reinforcement - box is the most representative case of this. Skinner only recorded the change of monkey's behavior, giving different stimuli and he stated that the change of behavior is caused by reinforcement. However, in psychology, it is important to reveal how reinforcement caused the change of behavior and influenced the human mind. Behaviorism can't explain this process. It only can find the change of behavior.
Second, behaviorism depends on only empirical finding. Like this, positivism which focuses on visible evidence and scientific method of research like behaviorism depends on empirical experience. Although positivism revealed many phenomenon around us objectively, The world is filled with things we can't experience such as the universe, the God and the quantum mechanics. So, positivism was replaced by round sight to overcome this problem. Sociologists began to consider religion which cannot be explained by science as important element to explain the society and human. As, behaviorism is categorized in positivism, it is possible to say that psychologists should replace behaviorism by cognitive-biological approach which focuses on not only visible behavior and physiological process, but also the abstract, cognitive information processing to research abstract and invisible things in our mind such as consciousness.
Third, behaviorism basically ignores basic diversity of the human mind. Originally, psychologists pay attention to find the universal pattern of the human mind because all people have different mind each other. However, as there are universal pattern in the human mind obviously, the academical field about the human mind can exist. However, behaviorism displays the humans mind in diagram form too much. For example, Chomsky's the theory of language acquisition which is representative example of behaviorism generalized every person's process of learning language. In fact, people learn language in various way. Also, behaviorism ignores human's case-by-case characteristic. In the same condition and stimuli, human's behavior and psychological mechanism can be different because of individual's characteristic and cognitive process. On the other hand, behaviorists try to apply same patterns about the human's mind to all people.

[Week 7] NARRATION

My Persuasive Argument thesis 

Human can't understand all secrets about the human mind with behaviorism.

1. What do people about already know about my topic?

People know that the human mind is too puzzling to be analyzed only with science because many people observed many errors and limitation of behaviorism. In fact, many philosophers hated behaviorism because it only focused on 'what someone does', not 'Does someone exist?' - Proving one's existence is the most important task in philosophy and psychologists also did because it only focused on 'what someone does' , not 'how that behavior works'. Furthermore, in our life, many people experienced certain change of emotion which behaviorism can't explain.

2. What research has already been done about my topic?

a) The Language of Behavior Analysis; Its Community, Its Functions and Its Limitation

Note. This paper explains behaviorism as methodology of linguistic psychology well. From this paper, we can understand what is behaviorism, what is its function in research and what is its limitation. I only read the part of 'Its Limitation' in this paper.

b) Detmold's Refutation of Positivism and the Computer Judge
Note. Behaviorism is one kind of positivism in psychology because it considers scientific experiment and foundation as the most important method of its research. This research includes author's refutation toward positivism suggesting the error of computer judge. We can judge the validity of positivism in 21C from this paper.

c) Over the Behaviorism ; Neobehaviorism
Note. Many behaviorists such as C. Tolman realized of their theory. Mainly the inability to prove how certain behavior was made was their agony. So, they tried to induce cognitive science to solve this problem. This rebuilt method has been called as 'Neobehaviorism'. This indicates that human can't prove all processes related to the human mind with behavior.


3. What are the implication of my argument?
Today, psychology emphasizes the scientific experiment influenced by behaviorism. It is correct that psychology should be one kind of science. However, many psychologists ignore other things such as unconsciousness, dreaming and so on because these things are difficult to be proved by science. If they agree in my opinion, they tried to develop other way to analysis these 'difficult problems about the human mind.' As a result, human can understand the human mind more variously and correctly. However, if they ignore my opinion, they only can be able to research outside appearance of the human mind - visible behavior -. Human must be not able to understand the inner process of the human mind. Human cannot understand themselves.


-


My Narration
Science is defined as a field which are composed of assured and universal empirical found anyone can't refute. So to speak, science is 'universal' and based on 'experience'. Many psychologists argued that psychology should be a science. It's right statement because human mind has some universal pattern such as reinforcement and attachment but it is different from others'. So it is essential to categorize psychology as science to research the human's mind systemically. In fact, not only scholars who study humanities, but also scientists are studying human's mind especially the information processing. However, Many psychologists get their high horse, saying that they can prove all secrets related to human's mind with high technology such fMRI in 21C. Furthermore, Richard Dawkins, famous scientist, had confidence to human's originality by science in The Selfish Gene. In spite of this attitude, some awaken scholars realized that behaviorism which reflects this attitude the best in psychology cannot explain the human's mind. For example, these scholars refuted the behaviorists' opinion that behaviorists see all human's psychological mechanism as compensate and reinforcement like animals. So, I would try to refute the scholars who over-believe the power of behaviorism with suggesting the fatal error of positivism and actual case which shows that behaviorism is limited in psychology.

[Week 6] INTRODUCTION

"No Man's Knowledge Here Can Go Beyond His Experience." / John Locke

All scholars prove their hypothesis and discover academic facts by their empirical research and discovery. Even proving philosophical truth by logic, the process of proving itself is one kind of empirical found. So, human's researching and understanding toward the world cannot help by being narrow because there are some mysterious secrets which cannot be realized by human's experience such as absolute truth in philosophy. However, positivism says that human can uncover all of secrets about the world only by science and technology. For example, behaviorists in psychology stated that psychologists should except invisible and abstract things such as desire to their research to study mind. Is it true? No, psychologists can't understand the human mind correctly only with one viewpoint - behavior.

1. Attention Grabber

As attention grabber, I quoted J. Locke's famous saying and from this saying, I connected my thesis and topic naturally by suggesting process of proving which people would be likely to think as not empirical discovery.

2. Explain the Topic

Before declaring my thesis, I questioned 'Is it true? - Can psychologists understand all secrets about the human mind only with behaviorism really?' and I suggested key points related to my topic : positivism, behaviorism, science and technology, single viewpoint.

3. Declare My Thesis

About my topic, I declare my thesis obviously, 'No, psychologists can't understand the human mind correctly only with one viewpoint - behavior.'

[Week 5] Research IV

Research d). How should psychologists study the human's mind?

My Topic
Human can't understand all secrets of the human mind only with behaviorism


What I Hope to Learn from This Research
I want to know correct and reasonable methodology of psychology and how psychologists now study the human's mind.


Notes
1. We can call today's methodology in psychology as 'cognitive - biological approach'. It was suggested contra the behaviorism. So to speak, it is possible to say that this approach tried to explain human's mind in terms of mental-cognition and physical, neuron-biological processing.

2. For example, when psychologists want to explain Lisa's getting on a bus, they analyze this with two sides. First, she will have some desire to visit to her grandma's home and belief that bus will take her to get her grandma's house the most quickly. Second, they will add some explanation about neuron network and spinal cord which deliver some orders and information from the brain to peripheral nerves.

3. Fields of Fundamental Psychology : Developing Psychology, Social Psychology, Learning Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Psychoanalysis


Final Thought
Psychologists should analyze the human's minds with various viewpoints such as evolution, development, unconsciousness, neural processing, information processing. They can't understand all things about human mind with single viewpoint. Behaviorism is also.



* Source  1. Havard Sampler (Steven Pinker,  Kimyoungsa)
                2. www.koreanpsychology.co.kr
                3. Myers's Introduction of Psychology (David G. Myers)

[Week 4] Research III

Research c). Behaviorism's Influence & Limitation


My Topic
Human can't understand all secrets about human mind with behaviorism.


What I Hope to Learn This Research
I want to know what behaviorism helped psychologists to study and its limitation. Although behaviorism helped psychologists to reveal a lot of secrets about the human mind such as reinforcement, classic conditioning, it got a lot criticizing because of its narrow and strict methodology.


Notes
1. Behaviorism reinforced the scientific characteristic of psychology. Also, it gave a lot of valuable lessons to psychologists. First, it is possible to control human's cognition if behavior is manipulated. (To manipulate human's behavior uses various reinforcements.) Second, psychology is not a philosophy which considered human's mind as abstract subject. Scholar who studies human's mind should be acclimatized with statistics, experiment and biology.

2. Behaviorism has been criticized by following opinions.
 a) Behaviors are always expressed by language. Language can't depict and express human's mind enough because of its symbolism.
 b) Behavior can't include human's all mind. For example, most of our imaginations can't be seen by others unless we record it in blank note.
 c) Behaviorism always argued that there was no 'MIND'. However, what is their 'MIND'? They said that abstract things like belief isn't exist. Then, why we believe God? How we start to believe God? Why we pay tithing? Because of altruism? then, isn't altruism abstract?

Video /  Behaviorism's Limitation

Pic     /  Opening Skinner's Box (Lauren Slater, 2005)



Final Thought
Behaviorism contributed to make psychology as scientific and quantity field about human's mind. It has still influenced our mind today. However, psychologist can't understand human's mind with only behaviorism because it overlooked the cognitive and abstract side of human's mind. It tried to explain human's mind in terms of only behavior and visible response, but it can't include all of human's mind processes.



*Source  1. www.youtube.com
               2. terms.naver.com
               3. www.koreanpsychology.or.kr
               4. www.simplypsychology.com
               5. Opening Skinner's Box (Lauren Slater, 2005)
 

[Week 3] RESEARCH II

Research b). Can Behaviorism Represent the Positivism in Psychology?

My Topic 
Human can't understand all secrets of human mind only by behaviorism.



What I Hope to Learn from This Research
I want to understand the limitation of behaviorism through positivism. I think that behaviorism is one kind of positivism, so behaviorism may share the same limitation with positivism. Before proving my hypothesis, I should prove premise in my hypothesis that behaviorism is one kind of positivism.



Notes

1. The term behaviorism refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed. Behaviorism was established with the publication of Watson's classic paper "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It". Behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable manner with no consideration of internal mental states. It suggests that only observable behaviors should be studied, since internal states such as cognitions, emotions, and moods are too subjective.

2.  "The Invisible doesn't Exist." - B.F. Skinner (1904~1990)

3. Positivism is a way of thinking developed by Auguste Comte and is based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works. Positivism also argues that sociology should concern itself only with what can be observed with the senses and that theories of social life should be built in a rigid, linear, and methodical way on a base of verifiable fact. It has had relatively little influence on contemporary sociology, however, because it is argued that it encourages a misleading emphasis on superficial facts without any attention to underlying mechanisms that cannot be observed.


Final Thought

Positivism focuses on the scientific and objective evidences and researching. It excepts invisible and abstract hypothesis and datas from study. Like this, In psychology, Behaviorism focuses on visible human's behavior and considered abstract phenomenon like belief and desire, which are important things for Sigmund Freud as useless things in studying. However, Positivism is used in many fields such as philosophy, science and meteorology and behaviorism is used in relatively narrow fields like pedagogy and psychology.  So, I can reach the conclusion that behaviorism is one kind of positivism. 

[Week 3] ARTICULATION

1. My Argument

 I want to argue that positivism is mankind's arrogance.  'Arrogance' means that 'looking down on someone, over-believing one's power and ability.' Human are believing and depending on the power of science too much and considering the world as something to be able to conquer. However, we can't prevent the storm perfectly and understand principles of the universe. Furthermore, we are afraid of natural disaster. These suggests that we can't conquer the world and nature with science and technology.


2. How I Found My Argument

 My first research question is 'Can human understand all secrets of the human's mind?' At first, I read a book titled as 'SNU Collected Lectures' and was impressed the mostly by the chapter about philosophy, especially positivism. Furthermore, in the 'Advanced English Writing' class, our textbook explained the limitation of Skinner's Behaviorism which tried to explain human's mind only with scientific method. From these contents, I begun to doubt the ability of positivism. Originally, I set my topic as 'Positivism is Human's Arrogance.' However, I thought that this topic was too abstract to set as research question and I targeted 'all things about the world' as 'understood subjects' in my topic. However, it was too extensive. So I shaped up my topic again as 'Can human understand all secrets of the human mind?'
 My research helped me to understand what is positivism exactly and how many psychologists studied human's mind by comparing two bipolar schools of psychology, Skinner's behaviorism and Freud's psychoanalysis. So, I can figure out the problems of behaviorism, which represents the positivism in psychology more easily.


3. Research Questions

I have following research questions now and I'll do these research during this class.

a) What is positivism exactly?      --->            (Done!)
b) Is Behaviorism a kind of positivism in psychology?
c) Behaviorism's influence
d) Positivism's limitations and Behaviorism's limitations
d) How should psychologist study human's mind?

< Freud (1856~1939)













Skinner(1904~1990)            >



4. Connection to the Harvard Sampler

In the Harvard Sampler, chapter one, 'The Human Mind', Author suggested behaviorism and psychoanalysis to explain how psychologists studied the human mind in the past and said that the cognitive-biological approach', which prevails today's methodology of psychology research appeared against behaviorism because it made a lot of errors. So, my topic - Can Human understand all secrets of human mind - is related to our textbook enough.

[Week 2] Research

Research a). What is Positivism?

My Topic 
Human can't understand human's mind only with behaviorism.

What I Hope to Learn from This Source
Before writing the essay, I should know what is positivism because I want to understand the limitation of behaviorism by knowing the limitations and errors of positivism. 

Notes
Positivism is a way of thinking developed by Auguste Comte and is based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works. This knowledge can then be used to affect the course of social change and improve the human condition. Positivism also argues that sociology should concern itself only with what can be observed with the senses and that theories of social life should be built in a rigid, linear, and methodical way on a base of verifiable fact. It has had relatively little influence on contemporary sociology, however, because it is argued that it encourages a misleading emphasis on superficial facts without any attention to underlying mechanisms that cannot be observed.

Final Thought
Positivism is the way of studying that all subjects can be studied by scientific theory, visible evidence and not hypothesis. It seems to be related with behaviorism in psychology.



*Source    1. www.sociology.about.com
                 2. www.youtube.com

[Week 2] Research Proposal

What is my current topic?

I want to prove that positivism is arrogant because it is obvious that science can't prove all things in the world for us. However, Many people are believing the power of science and proud of their scientific ability and data. We can see this attitude in rationalism at first. As a result, People are getting some terrible result from nature and our ignorance about the world. So, I want to say that positivism is arrogance and we should be polite toward the world in my first persuasive essay.


What are my guiding questions?

Positivism. It is possible to say that positivism has led humans to know parts of our mysterious world.  Of course, I agree on this statement. However, I want to know the limitations of positivism and complete my hypothesis. Also, I aim to have readers get the same idea with me and be polite toward our ignorance.


What are my current thought?

Positivism is arrogance. People cannot understand all of things only with science although science can reveal many things in the world. Psychologists can't reveal all of things about our mind, meteorologist can't predict natural phenomenon perfectly and physicist can't understand the origin of universe. We should be polite toward the world before our science can reveal all of things.


What is the opposition?

Many philosophers stated that human's ration is only way to study the world exactly. Ration makes science and science is the most important tool to reveal the secret of the world. Also, science can expand its area exponentially with originally existing data. So mankind can understand all things about the world with science's helping if scholars continue to advance science.

[Week 1] BRAINSTORMING

I read a 'Seoul National University ; Collected Lecture' and read chapter about philosophy, especially


 Positivism.

-

 What is positivism?
 Positivism is philosophical idea that human can understand all things about nature, world, space, human and so on.


However, is it right? Can human understand all things by science? 

No. I think that it is some kind of arrogance.

So, I changed my topic as 'Is Positivism Valid?'


Because my previous topic was useless to research, at least I think. However this topic is related to rationalism and today's science abusing.

So I will restart my research with very sensitive and critical topic. : )



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Pic 1. Auguste Comte (1798~1857) ; Representative Positivist.

Pic 2. Cover of SNU Collected Lecture, GeulHangari, 2010.