2nd Term SY 2012-2013

Hansky Santos

WELCOME TO BIOLOGICAL
PSYCHOLOGY!
 TODAY’S CLASS
•  About this course
•  Objective of Biological Psychology
•  Philosophical positions on the mind-brain
questions
 ABOUT THIS COURSE
•  Instructor: Henri Carlo Santos
–  hcs27@georgetown.edu
–  0927.6022557
•  Consultation hours
–  MW 9:30-10:30, 2:30-3:30
–  Email for appointment
•  Class website:
–  www.tinyurl.com/hanskydlsustudents
 ABOUT THIS COURSE
•  To have an organized working knowledge of the
physiological processes behind human behavior
•  To appreciate the complexity of brain processes
and human experience; to think about them from
different perspectives and disciplines
•  To develop critical thinking and scientific
communication skills
•  To apply knowledge in biological psychology to
different areas, such as education, medicine,
social services, and everyday life
 GRADING SYSTEM
•  3 Tests (Oct. 8, Nov. 5, Nov. 28) 30%
•  Final Exam 20%
•  Information Dissemination Project 15%
•  Group Presentation 15%
•  Reflection Paper 10%
•  Attendance and Participation: 10%
 POLICIES
•  Attendance will be checked
•  Recitation and participation is encouraged
•  Turn of cellphones
•  Make-up exams only for excused
absences; deductions for late papers
•  No plagiarism
 BOOK
•  Biological Psychology (Kalat, 2007)
•  Biopsychology (Pinel, 2003)
•  The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
(Sacks, 1998)
 ABOUT YOU
•  Attendance will be checked
•  Recitation and participation is encouraged
•  Turn of cellphones
•  Make-up exams only for excused
absences; deductions for late papers
•  No plagiarism
FOUR ARISTOTELIAN CAUSES

Material  
FOUR ARISTOTELIAN CAUSES

Formal  
FOUR ARISTOTELIAN CAUSES

Efficient  
FOUR ARISTOTELIAN CAUSES

Final  
 FOUR ARISTOTELIAN CAUSES
•  Material – what is it?
•  Formal – how is it
arranged?
•  Efficient – how does it
work?
•  Final – why is it
done?
 THE MIND-BRAIN PROBLEM
•  What is the
relationship between
the mind and the
brain?
•  Monism
–  Multi-aspect monism
•  Identity position
•  Dualism
 RENÉ DESCARTES
•  The physical and
metaphysical are two
different realities
•  They interact via the
Pineal gland
•  The final cause is still
unclear
 FRENCH MATERIALISM
•  There is a relationship between biology
and behavior
•  This connection is neural
•  There is nothing metaphysical – you have
to prove it exists
•  But what makes persons different from
other matter? What happens to the person
when there’s brain damage?
 ROBERT WHYTT
•  Movement is a
function of the CNS
•  Agency of the mind 
muscles?
•  Will to move  CNS
(pyramids of the
medulla) 
movement
•  There is correlation,
but not causation
 WILHELM WUNDT
•  Physiological
Psychology is about
consciousness
•  The psychological
and physiological are
correlated but do not
interact
THE HARD QUESTION OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
 THE HARD QUESTION OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
•  Kety (1960): The True Nature of a Book
•  Your brain is you
•  Mereological fallacy: mistaking the part for
the whole