Darwin’s Influence on John Dewey’s Reflex Arc Concept

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The reflex arc concept in psychology
How reflex act concept guide people to adapt to environment
How reflex arc relates to Darwin’s evolutionary theory
How reflex arc concept inspires functionalism
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Among the works of john Dewey, The reflex arc concept has attracted much attention among people who have been studying psychology. The argument in his reflex arc concept was meant to bring more understanding on how people learn from the interaction with environment and how the process of the learning takes place. His argument described the relationship between what captures the attention of a human being before he acts (stimulus) and the act that follows (response). Understanding of the reflex act concept brought about what is today commonly referred to as functionalism, a term that will be described later in this paper. (Buckley, 2005)

The reflex arc concept in psychology

The reflex arc concept when properly understood simplifies the studies in the field of psychology. The reflex arc concept deals with the sensory stimulus involving observable things in terms of seeing and hearing, the sensory nervous system which involves the mechanism through which message is passed through the body system and motor discharge which enable the person to act in the proper way. The concept therefore explains a set of teamwork involving coordination of various parts like mind, eyes, hands and legs or any other body part that enables the person to respond in a particular way after receiving any information.

These parts; the sensory stimulus, the system connecting the central nervous system and motor discharge are not complete systems in themselves but function as a team sharing the labor in a single whole that is now referred to as a reflex arc. There exists coordination of these parts to bring about sensation of the stimulus which is followed by reasoning and the end result is the right movement. (Strauss, 2003)

Reflex arc concept is well illustrated using the child and candle experiment where ordinarily one would assume that, when a child approaches a candle and gets burnt, it is the light that starts the whole process by first capturing the attention of the child. Although this is basically the practical method of looking at it, the reflex arc concept represents the process in a different way because it argues that the start of the process is not the candle but the mind process in the child that makes him/her first have the interest in looking at the flame.

The interpretation of this argument is that the primary process is the movement of the head and the eyes before the candle is noticed while sensation of the candle is the secondary stimulus. The body movement especially around the head as well as the eye muscle largely determines the extent of the quality of what the person has experienced. This implies that the beginning of the whole experience is act of looking and seeing but not the sensation of the light by the child. (Parry, 2002)

From the above perspective, sensing and the resulting movement form the action that the child undertake after first making the effort of looking towards the direction of the flame. The primary looking thereafter stimulates another act of the child reaching the candle which is a confirmation that there is coordination between the two actions which aimed at forming more complex results. To be specific, the success in the work of the hand largely depends on its control and also its stimulation by the act of looking. When the child gets burnt, it becomes another sensory motor coordination not just a mere sensation but a completion of the coordination of the eye to hand that had already taken place. From the whole experience the child learns and also gains the ability in avoiding a similar experience in future. (Taylor, 2000)

In this case the flame takes the role of the sensor while the mind of the child undergoes the process that leads to the child reaching the flame which in this case is the response. The burning of the child becomes another sensor followed by a process in the mind and finally withdrawal of the hand which is the last response. This path followed by the impulse from the start of the process to the end is referred to as reflex arc.

According to Dewey, the general reflex arc in the nervous system of a human being comprises of 5 main parts. The receptor organ has the role of receiving the stimulus which is relayed to the central nervous system which comprises the spinal cord by some chemicals in the nerves. The stimulus is further passed on through the CNS by similar chemicals throughout the spinal cord which is later followed by relay of the stimulus out of the central nervous system through efferent neuron. The message is finally delivered to effectors’ organ such as hand through motor neuron. (Shibutani, 2004)

How reflex act concept guide people to adapt to environment

Reflex arc concept indicated that in all stages of learning, there is strengthening which occurs as a gradual process and this is attributed by the experience that the human being is going through out of the association between the stimulus and response. Complex behaviors including language are built from a series of basic connections brought about by a chain of actions in the surrounding environment over time. Sequences in a certain behavior therefore need to be planned and well organized in a way that a person can easily follow starting with the most simple behaviors to the more complex behavior depending on which behavior in intended to be leant.

An example of such an organization is when an individual is making a speech. The person starts by having the overall intention that prompts him to make the utterance which is followed by the syntax as well as the vocabulary and finally he or she produces the sounds which are a process learnt through experience. This is only achieved after an observation of such an action made by others in ones life and by interacting with others responding to any observation that one has made. (Green, 2001)

How reflex arc relates to Darwin’s evolutionary theory

According to John (2005) “Darwin’s theory of natural selection influenced john Dewey in his reflex arc concept through his work about the origin of species that a change about the way people used to think concerning human mind and whether it has been evolving to cope with changing environment over time.” In his argument Darwin considered environmental forces to be influential on natural selection of species favoring those species that are adapted to live in that environment. Darwin argued that if a species has adaptive characteristics in a given environment, it is able to pass them to its offspring but if it lacks these survival components then it undergoes extinction.

In relation to the work of Darwin, john Dewey’s view in his carrier focused on survival of species in a given environment. Dewey was in agreement with Darwin’s theory because he believed that the response of an organism in a given environment develops through an understanding on how to cope with the situation. John Dewey claimed that human beings must experience a series of circumstances and the works of the reflex arc at the same time. He argued that a person decides to take action only after making an observation and thereafter deciding on which action to take. (Taylor, 2000)

How reflex arc concept inspires functionalism

Functionalism is a school of psychological as well as philosophical thinking which had its origin in the Dewey’s reflex arc concept. It considers the study of mind as part of an organism that functions depending on what is exposed to it in the environment. A complex behavior is a prompted process going on in the mind of an individual dictating on how certain behaviors are carried out. The environment does the work of reinforcing the complex behaviors. (Parry, 2002)

Functionalism deals with studies involving intelligence test and experiments being used in testing the ability to solve problems in animals and later likened with human beings. It offered a major shift of perception of American psychology with its approach focusing on the functions of mind as well as behavior and not just its structure. The main focus in functionalism was on mental processes and how they relate to ones behavior. (Green, 2001)

Conclusion

Darwin’s work in his evolutionary theory brought about the much needed paradigm shift in American psychology and reduced the much influence of religious/dogmatic assumptions regarding the mind of the human being. It also influenced to a great extent john Dewey in his reflex arc in psychology which latter became very important in influencing functionalism; a movement that came to be very important between the year 1890-1910. Reflex arc concept brought the understanding that functioning of the human mind as well as behavior is largely determined by the experience he/she has passed through in the immediate environment repeatedly.

References

Buckley W. (2005): Sociology and modern system theory: Prentice hall.

Classics in the History of Psychology — Dewey (1896). Web.

Strauss A. (2003): Dewey’s reflex arc concept: Transaction publishers John Dewey. The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology

Shibutani T. (2004): An interaction Approach to social psychology: Transaction publishers Charles Darwin: The Origin of Species. Web.

Parry W. (2002): The reflex arc concept: University of Buffalo John Dewey 1896.

John M. (2005): Artificial reflex Arc: University of Chicago Soviet Psychology: Consciousness as a problem of behavior. Web.

Green L. (2001): Charles Darwin and modern science: Cambridge University press Man and his environment. Web.

Taylor G. (2000): The great evolutionary mystery: HarperCollins publishers. Web.

Field A. (2004): evolution and functionalism: University of Michigan press Chicago Functionalists.

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