Jeanette Cox (656 words)

Dr. Charles Dolph

PYCH-3690

January 20, 2023

Chapter 2 Eyes of Faith

The second chapter of David Myers' Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith is titled
"Levels of Explanation." The key point is the fact that there are numerous "levels" or "modes" of
interpretation that merely reflect different "levels of analysis." You could argue that each of us is
a complicated system that is part of a bigger social system, but that we are also made up of
smaller systems, such as our neurological system and body organs, which are made up of even
smaller and smaller systems. Any given phenomenon, such as thinking, can be examined through
the lens of practically any of these systems, ranging from social influences to biological
influences. Because there are so many different perspectives or levels of analysis, we must
decide which one to use. Each level has its own set of questions and methods. Each of these
levels provides a way of looking at behavior, yet each by itself is incomplete. As a result, each
level complements the others; with all of the viewpoints, we have a more complete picture of our
matter than any one perspective could provide. No single level adequately explains everything
we can understand about memory or any other topic in psychology. Neuropsychologists conduct
research on the neural systems that process information and how specific brain areas relate to
different types of memory. The process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information is
studied by cognitive psychologists in nonphysical terms as being partially automated and
partially labor-intensive. The impact of our emotions and social experiences on memory is
examined by social psychologists. The other layers of explanation would not be rendered
obsolete or invalidated by the completion of their own explanations. The neuropsychological
viewpoint is quite helpful for some things but less helpful, say, for comprehending social ties.
We should also point out that it is very frequent within biology to see different types of
explanations organized in concepts of "models" of explanation rather than "labels" of
explanation. This is because so much of contemporary psychology is concerned with biological
difficulties. There are three common explanation methods employed by biologists: the first is
known as a reductionist explanation and involves providing "how?" responses to the question of
the mechanism involved: the second, of "what for?" responses where one is seeking an
explanation in terms of function, is known as compositional meanings; and the third, of "how did
this come about?" replies, that is, explanations in terms of the developmental history of the
organism. These range from the scientific disciplines that investigate the simplest components of
nature up to philosophy and theology, which tackle some of life's most important issues. We
regard it as multilayered out of convenience, yet it is really a seamless unity. Thus, the many
perspectives on a phenomenon, such as romantic love, can occasionally be connected, allowing
us to construct a bridge between both. There have been successful attempts to develop a link
between Christianity and the human sciences. The biological and sociological explanations of the
incest taboo are a wonderful complement to a theological explanation. Sometimes the efforts to
establish a bridge between the two sides don't seem to mesh in the center, as when someone's
belief that God answers prayers with miracles is faced with reason and science and a
psychological description of how people form false ideas. The idea that religious and scientific
explanations can complement one another does not imply that there will never be disagreement
or that any unsubstantiated hypothesis should be accepted as fact. It simply means that various
explanations might genuinely mesh well together.
I agree with most of the chapter. I enjoyed where it described it as a multilayered view
instead of just one view, but in reality, told us that it is all unity. Due to us being humans, we like
everything to be connected in some sort of way. Everything is connected in some sort of way, it
helps us to remember everyday things better.