Famous Philosphers (Assignment)

1. Choose three of the presocratic (before Socrates – see p 26-31) philosophers whose ideas you find most interesting. Describe their ideas, and explain why they interest you. What were the implications for future psychology?
2. Describe and compare the ways in which Plato and Aristotle regarded empirical, sensory experience and its relationship to innate characteristics of the mind.
3. What are the most important features of the human psyche, or soul, as conceptualized by Plato, Aristotle, and Avicenna? What are the most important similarities and differences among those conceptions?
4. Asian philosophical perspectives such as Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism have made important contributions to modern psychology. Name an Asian philosopher or philosophical perspective that has contributed to modern psychology and describe some of their contributions. HINT: Search online for: eastern and western perspective in psychology, eastern and western perspectives of consciousness, Taoism psychology, Buddhist psychology, Hindusim and psychology, Confucianism and psychology, etc.