Immortal Curiosity

03/20/2006 04:26:23 PM
Notes on Psychology The Briefer Course, by William James, ed. by Gordon Allport, Notre Dame edition-

Introductory -

• The definition of psychology, as given by Professor Ladd: “the description and explanation of states of consciousness as such”.
• Psychology will be treated as a natural science.
• While a single science of truth, Philosophy, may be the goal, currently sciences such as psychology have separate assumptions and problems.

Notes on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, trans. G.E.M. Anscombe-

Preface

Section:

• 1- Augustine; Every word has a meaning.
• 2- A complete primitive language: Person A needs to receive particular items in an order from B. A calls out words, B brings items appropriate to the call he has learned. Compare the system he describes to basic computer languages. Seems to fit perfectly.
• 3- Circumscribed definitions.
• 4- Scripts.

Notes on The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin
(first edition text)

Samuel Huckins
04/24/06- Senior Seminar
The Interpretation of Dreams, by Sigmund Freud. Avon edition.
An interesting inscription on the title page: Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo. [”If I cannot bend Heaven, I will move Hell. (Aeneid VII, 1.312)”]

Chapter 2- The Method of Interpreting Dreams: an Analysis of a Specimen Dream

• His aim is to show that dreams are capable of being interpreted.

Notes on “On Instinct in Man and Animals”, by Alfred Wallace.

• Pleasure and Change- If a pleasure is associated with a certain beneficial activity there will be an advantage conferred, namely that the activity would be likely to be emulated within a population within a shorter period of time than mere genetic inheritance. However, this association will be disadvantageous in that it will be that much harder to stop the activity from occurring. In fact, it seems that such a pleasure would counter all but the strongest survival benefits to its cessation.