Deck 8: Sensationalism and Positivism: the French Tradition

Question 1

One of the earliest statements of specific nerve energies was proposed by:

A) Condillac.
B) Bonnet.
C) La Mettrie.
D) Helvétius.
E) Cabanis.

Answer 1

Bonnet.

Question 2

A scientist who devised the chemical basis of physiological processes, especially the role of oxygen in animal respiration, was:

A) Joseph Lagrange.
B) Jean d'Alembert.
C) Karl Shule.
D) Antoine Lavoisier.
E) Pierre Laplace.

Answer 2

Antoine Lavoisier.

Question 3

The extension of human motivation to environmental influences was proposed by:

A) Condillac.
B) Bonnet.
C) La Mettrie.
D) Helvétius.
E) Cabanis.

Answer 3

Helvétius.

Question 4

A prominent person in the development of mechanical relationships based upon algebra and calculus, as well as devising the metric system, was:

A) Joseph Lagrange.
B) Jean d'Alembert.
C) Karl Shule.
D) Antoine Lavoisier.
E) Pierre Laplace.

Question 5

The "statue analogy" of the acquisition of human experience was proposed by:

A) Condillac.
B) Bonnet.
C) La Mettrie.
D) Helvétius.
E) Cabanis.

Question 6

A central, coordinating ego of the brain as part of a unified sensory system was proposed by:

A) Condillac.
B) Bonnet.
C) La Mettrie.
D) Helvétius.
E) Cabanis.

Question 7

Helvétius salvaged a semblance of mental activity by proposing that:

A) the mind contains innate ideas.
B) specific nervous energies are the sole mechanism of thought.
C) the mind is synonymous with physiological processes.
D) Cartesian dualism is correct.
E) human intelligence mediates environmental influences.

Question 8

The relatively tranquil period of the long reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV left France with:

A) a firmly established Protestant Church.
B) an advanced educational system and an intellectual enlightenment.
C) a stifled educational system available only to the rich.
D) little need for censorship of scholarly work.
E) an educational system completely independent of Church control.

Question 9

The major theme of the French tradition developed into the study of sensations at the expense of:

A) perceptual processes.
B) physiological processes.
C) the activities of the mind.
D) materialism.
E) the nervous system.

Question 10

Condillac proposed a psychology of sensations derived from:

A) mental activity.
B) the intellect and the will.
C) the nervous system
D) a single sensory capacity.
E) memory.

Question 11

By his third phase, Biran defined psychology as the study of:

A) sensations.
B) the intentionality of the self.
C) intelligence.
D) perceptual information dependent on the environment.
E) the physiological mechanisms of thought processes.

Question 12

In breaking with the "fiber" psychologists' emphasis on sensationalism, Biran argued for:

A) innate ideas of the mind.
B) a reliance on materialism.
C) thought processes as an aggregate of sensation.
D) thought processes as a unified, whole entity.
E) a mechanical view of the acquisition of human experience.

Question 13

During his initial intellectual phase, Biran belonged to a group called the:

A) Jesuits.
B) philosophes.
C) Ideologists.
D) theologiens.
E) sensationalists.

Question 14

La Mettrie's work, L'Homme Machine, contributed to the French sensationalistic tradition by its:

A) opposition to materialism.
B) clear statement of materialism.
C) studies of mental activity.
D) clear support of dualism.
E) justification of the study of psychology.

Question 15

Cabanis' less extreme sensationalism advocated:

A) the need for a central mind agent contained in the brain.
B) a complete identification of the mind with specific nerve fibers.
C) a reliance on materialism.
D) innate ideas of the mind.
E) a reliance on Cartesian dualism.

Question 16

The principle that motivation of human activity is governed by the seeking of pleasure was proposed by:

A) Condillac.
B) Bonnet.
C) La Mettrie.
D) Helvétius.
E) Cabanis.

Question 17

A prominent person in the development of the mathematical basis of astronomy and the theory of probability was:

A) Joseph Lagrange.
B) Jean d'Alembert.
C) Karl Shule.
D) Antoine Lavoisier.
E) Pierre Laplace.

Question 18

The group of scholars, who worked clandestinely around the state censorship system, was known as the:

A) philosophes.
B) theologiens.
C) Jesuits.
D) scolastiques.
E) "underground".

Question 19

Bonnet extended Condillac's sensationalistic psychology by:

A) assuming mental activity.
B) his belief in innate ideas.
C) proposing physiological mechanisms.
D) opposing materialism.
E) his use of deductive experiments.

Question 20

A French mathematician who advanced the study of applied mathematics in the study of physics was:

A) Joseph Lagrange.
B) Jean d'Alembert.
C) Karl Shule.
D) Antoine Lavoisier.
E) Pierre Laplace.

Question 21

The data of positivistic science for Comte were based upon:

A) perceptions.
B) social interactions.
C) ethics.
D) brain coordination.
E) observables.

Question 22

French positivism was a consistent type of:

A) empiricism.
B) mentalism.
C) metaphysics.
D) dualism.
E) causality.

Question 23

Comte's positivism was:

A) based on innate ideas.
B) consistent with French sensationalism.
C) inconsistent with French sensationalism.
D) consistent with Cartesian dualism.
E) actually a justification for the study of psychology.

Question 24

Biran's major interest in human activity focused on the:

A) importance of sensations.
B) role of brain interactions with environmental input.
C) neural pathways of motor behavior.
D) importance of innate ideas.
E) creative, unpredictable character of human activity.

Question 25

According to Comte, science is:

A) noncausal.
B) absolute knowledge.
C) relative knowledge.
D) based upon metaphysics.
E) based upon theology.