PS210 Unit 2 Philosophical Roots Paper Example

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Two seventeenth-century answers to where the mind's contents come from are traced to psychology's later questions in this PS210 Unit 2 philosophical roots paper. René Descartes split mind from body, placed their meeting in the pineal gland and held some ideas innate, leaving every later school to explain how a thought quickens a pulse. John Locke's 1690 Essay made the mind blank paper written by experience and described a room made unbearable by one painful memory, which reads like an early account of a learned phobia. Purdue Global PS 210, History of Psychology, assigns this paper in the BS in Psychology course.

CoursePS210 History of Psychology
UnitUnit 2
Paper typePhilosophical roots paper
LengthAbout 550 words, 5 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Psychology
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for PS210 Unit 2

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Descartes, Locke and the Question of Where Fear Comes From: A PS210 Unit 2 Philosophical Roots Paper

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

PS210: History of Psychology

Unit 2 Philosophical Roots Paper

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The thread connecting the philosophers to modern therapy is the writer's own; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingNaming both philosophers and the later question each set up in the lead shows the paper argues influence rather than listing ideas.
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Why Philosophy Comes First

Before psychology had laboratories, philosophers asked the questions it would later test: what is the mind, how does it relate to the body, and where does knowledge come from? Schultz and Schultz (2016) describe these debates as the setting that made a science of the mind seem both possible and necessary. Following one modern practice, cognitive behavioral therapy, back through history begins here, because the therapy assumes two things philosophers argued about: that thoughts and feelings can be studied, and that much of what we fear and believe is learned.

Descartes: A Mind Apart From the Body

René Descartes argued in the 1600s that the mind and body are different kinds of substance. The body is a machine that follows physical laws; the mind thinks and is not physical. He proposed that the two interact, locating the meeting point in the pineal gland. He also held that some ideas, such as the idea of God or of perfect geometric forms, are innate rather than learned.

Descartes's view made the body a fit subject for mechanical explanation, encouraging later physiologists to study reflexes as automatic responses. It also left a puzzle that every later school inherited: if mind and body are different, how does a thought produce a racing heart, and how does a racing heart produce a frightening thought?

Every school after Descartes had to answer how a thought can quicken a pulse.

Locke: Knowledge Written by Experience

John Locke answered the question of knowledge differently. In 1690 he argued that the mind at birth is like blank paper and that all ideas come from experience, through sensation and reflection on our own mental operations. Complex ideas are built from simple ones by association. Locke also noted that some associations form by chance and can be irrational, giving the example of a person who cannot bear a room where something painful once happened (Locke, 1690).

That example is close to a modern account of a phobia. If associations formed by experience can attach fear to an innocent room, then fears are learned and, in principle, can be unlearned.

What this part is doingConnecting Locke's room example to phobias shows the paper links philosophy to the thread it follows.
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What Each Left to Later Psychology

Locke's empiricism led through the associationist philosophers to the conditioning experiments of the early twentieth century, including the studies of learned and unlearned fear that later shaped behavioral therapy. Descartes's dualism left psychology with the mind-body problem, which cognitive behavioral therapy handles practically rather than philosophically: it treats thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and behavior as interacting parts of one person, so that changing one can change the others.

Conclusion

Neither philosopher was a psychologist, but each set a question the field still answers in practice. Locke's experience-built mind made learned fear a natural idea, and Descartes's divided person made the link between thinking and feeling a problem worth solving. Leahey (2018) argues that psychology's history is best understood as a series of attempts to answer such questions with experiment rather than argument, and the next unit's founders made exactly that attempt.

What this part is doingClosing on the move from argument to experiment sets up the founding of laboratory psychology.
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References

Leahey, T. H. (2018). A history of psychology: From antiquity to modernity (8th ed.). Routledge.

Locke, J. (1690). An essay concerning human understanding. Thomas Basset.

Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). A history of modern psychology (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.

PS210 Unit 2 instructions, in plain terms

In PS210's second unit, the paper asks how philosophical debates about mind, body and knowledge set up the questions psychology would study. Choose two or three thinkers whose positions differ, and explain each accurately in your own words, with brief quotation where the original phrasing matters. Then trace what each left to later psychology: which question a school inherited, or which assumption it built on. Avoid presenting philosophers as early psychologists; show instead how their arguments made certain experiments seem worth doing. A thread connecting the philosophy to a modern concept or practice helps the paper hold together. Cite a primary source where possible along with a history of psychology text in APA style.

Inside the PS210 Unit 2 example

The paper opens by explaining why philosophy precedes psychology and naming the assumptions cognitive behavioral therapy would inherit. Descartes's section covers two substances, the pineal gland and innate ideas, then the reflex research his mechanical body encouraged, under a highlighted line about every school answering how a thought can quicken a pulse. Locke's section covers experience as the source of ideas, association and his example of an unbearable room, which the writer links to phobias. A section on legacies runs Locke through associationism to conditioning and treats dualism as a problem therapy handles practically. The conclusion cites Leahey on history as a series of attempts to answer old questions with experiment.

Reading the PS210 Unit 2 grading rubric

Credit depends on accurate philosophy connected to later psychology. Instructors look for each thinker's position explained correctly in plain terms, not borrowed phrasing from a summary site. The strongest papers show a specific line of influence, from a philosophical claim to an experimental question, rather than asserting that philosophy influenced psychology in general. Using a primary source shows initiative. A thread that runs to a modern concept keeps the paper purposeful. Contrasting positions, such as innate ideas against experience, rather than describing one thinker at length, earns credit for analysis. Instructors also reward a conclusion that previews how the next period answered these questions. Accurate citations for primary and secondary sources finish the expected work.

Common PS210 Unit 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them

The most frequent issue is a biography of each philosopher with dates and books but no explanation of their arguments. Another common slip claims Descartes or Locke founded psychology, which overstates their role. Students sometimes confuse empiricism with experimentation, or rationalism with religion. Papers often stop at the seventeenth century without saying what later psychology did with the ideas. Primary sources are rarely used even when short passages are easy to find. Before submitting, write one sentence stating each philosopher's position on where knowledge comes from, one sentence naming the later school or question that inherited it, and check that your paper shows the connection rather than assuming it.

Get a PS210 Unit 2 example written to your instructions

Share the philosophers or debates you are assigned and the instructions with the rubric. A custom paper connects the philosophy to psychology's later questions. Turnaround is 24-48h, free the first time. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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PS210 Unit 2 questions, answered

Which philosophers usually appear?

Often Descartes, Locke and other empiricists, and sometimes Kant or the nativists.

What is the mind-body problem?

The question of how mental events relate to the physical body and brain.

Should the paper connect to modern psychology?

Yes; the strongest papers show which philosophical question each later school inherited.

Where can I find a free PS210 Unit 2 sample paper?

The full PS210 Unit 2 paper is on this page, tracing Descartes and Locke to the questions behind conditioning research and cognitive behavioral therapy.

How does the PS210 Unit 2 sample connect Locke to phobias?

Locke described associations formed by chance that attach painful feelings to an innocent room, close to a modern account of a learned fear.