David Hartley

David Hartley was an 18th-century philosopher and psychologist who believed that all our mental activities arise from associations formed by experiences. He proposed that when we encounter different stimuli together repeatedly, our brain links them, creating habits or beliefs. This process of forming connections, which he called "association," explains learning, memory, and even emotions. Hartley's ideas laid early groundwork for understanding how the mind develops through experience, emphasizing that our thoughts and feelings are shaped by the patterns of connections in our brain, making him a key figure in the history of psychological science.