Human Behavior and Mental Phenomena
1. Introduction to Behavior and Consciousness
1.1 Behavior
Behavior is the individual’s reaction to reality. It encompasses mental processes and states, giving continuity and identity to individuals.
1.2 Intentionality and Intimacy
Intentionality is the property of mental states (beliefs, memories, desires) to refer to something. This distinguishes mental states from other states.
Intimacy refers to the direct accessibility of mental states to the subject.
1.3 Consciousness and Self-Awareness
Consciousness is the awareness of what is happening. Self-awareness is a key aspect. Freud’s concept of privileged knowledge is relevant here.
2. Psychoanalysis and Mental Phenomena
2.1 Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a therapy for mental disorders and a theory about the mind. It posits the existence of unconscious mental states. Freud believed primary impulses (instincts) strongly affect behavior.
2.2 Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis
Repression: A psychological mechanism that prevents dangerous mental content from surfacing.
Sublimation: Channeling unacceptable unconscious desires into culturally accepted activities.
2.3 Mental Phenomena
Cognitive Abilities
- Perception: Connects us to reality through the senses.
- Memory: Allows us to retain perceived information.
- Imagination: The ability to create and modify mental images.
- Reproductive Imagination: Represents and reproduces reality, sometimes with variations.
- Creative Imagination: Creates new images, altering reality, similar to dreams but in a state of wakefulness.
- Intelligence: The ability to solve problems and understand reality.
- Instinctive Intelligence: Innate problem-solving ability.
- Learned Intelligence: Acquired through trial and error.
- Insight: Sudden understanding or realization.
Affective States
- Feelings: Stable and long-lasting, subjective experiences like love.
- Emotions: Short, intense feelings with physiological reactions, like shame.
- Passions: Overpowering feelings and emotions that disrupt and control the individual, like intense love or anger.
3. Dualism and Monism
3.1 Dualism
Dualism postulates the existence of two realities: body and mind.
- Platonic Dualism: The soul is divine and immortal, while the body is a flawed, mortal prison.
- Cartesian Dualism: The mind is intangible and free, while the body is subject to the laws of matter.
3.2 Monism
Monism believes in a unified being, denying the mind’s separate existence from the brain.
- Spiritualist Monism: Denies the body’s role in the constitution of the self.
- Materialist Monism: The self is physical and material.
- Behaviorism: Ignores the mind and mental processes.
- Identity Theory: Mental states are neurophysiological brain states.
3.3 Beyond Dualism and Monism
- Functionalism: Mental phenomena are defined by their function, not their material composition.
- Property Dualism: Combines monism and dualism, suggesting one reality with two types of properties.
- Personalism: Claims a unified self, both bodily and spiritual.
4. Behavior, Motives, and Traits
4.1 Behavior and Instincts
Behavior is an observable reaction to internal or external stimuli.
- Instinctive Behavior: Genetically determined response patterns.
- Learned Behavior: New behavior from experience in similar situations.
4.2 Motives
Motives explain behavior.
- Homeostatic Theory: Individuals seek balance.
- Classification of Motives:
- Primary Motives: Innate biological needs, shared with animals.
- Secondary Motives: Cultural and social needs, learned through education.
4.3 Human Behavior
Human behavior involves analysis, reflection, decision-making, and action. Demotivation occurs when there’s no strong reason to act.
4.4 Traits of Human Behavior
- Openness: Humans are born without a fixed purpose.
- Plasticity: Humans are moldable and adaptable.
- Dissatisfaction: Arises from failure or unattainable goals.