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Gestalt Psychology in German Culture, 1890-1967: Holism and the Quest for Objectivity
This is the first full-length historical study of Gestalt psychology--an attempt to advance holistic thought within natural science. Holistic thought is often portrayed as a wooly-minded revolt against reason and modern science, but this is not so. On the basis of rigorous experimental research and scientific argument as well as on philosophical grounds, the Gestalt theorists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka opposed conceptions of science and mind that equated knowledge of nature with its effective manipulation and control. Instead, they attempted to establish dynamic principles of inherent, objective order and meaning in current language, principles of self-organization in human perception and thinking, in human and animal behavior, and in the physical world. The impact of their work ranged from cognitive science to theoretical biology and film theory. Based on exhaustive research in primary sources, including archival material cited here for the first time, this study illuminates the multiple social and intellectual contexts of Gestalt theory and analyzes the emergence, development and reception of its conceptual foundations and research programs from 1890 to 1967.
- GenresPsychology
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 26, 1996
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January 1, 2025
A very good book for anyone interested in the history of psychology and with pressing questions about the scientific place of a discipline that can be approached in so many ways.
I think the subtitle of this book is perfect: Holism and the Quest for Objectivity. It elegantly sums up the spirit behind this rigorous attempt to describe German psychology between 1890 and 1967.
The philosophical or methodological spirit that guides the book is the question of whether psychology can create something that is rigorously scientific ('objective', 'reproducible', 'empirical') and at the same time holistic ('humanistic', 'comprehensive', 'non-reductionist'). The main case study is the Gestalt movement, an important landmark of psychological theorising and a forgotten research practice. Spoiler: the reasons for the abandonment of the Gestalt approach have nothing to do with its epistemological value and theoretical richness, but with the social and historical developments around Nazi Germany and the fact that its most relevant figures were mostly of Jewish origin. This fact alone, and the importance that Gestalt practice had in its own time (let us remember that experimental psychology was born in Leipzig, Germany), is enough to warrant a look at its major figures and what they thought about how to develop psychological theory and practice empirical research.
The book is super-comprehensive. So much so, in fact, that I think this may be its greatest flaw: with so many pages, I think most psychologists would hesitate to pick it up at all. A smaller book on the subject could be an important addition to support the so-called 'spirit' of the book. For anyone who doubts whether or not to read the book, I strongly recommend reading the first half and the conclusion. The second half is more concerned with details about the movement which, while important and interesting in themselves, are more geared towards the specialist scholar (the back of the book says "Based on exhaustive research in primary sources, including archival material cited here for the first time...", an important clue as to who the optimal audience is).
The bullet points I take home are the following: (1) German psychology at the end of the XIX century was not an independent branch of science, but a branch of philosophy. This meant that empirical practice was intended to guide and inform philosophical thought. (2) Gestaltists believed that science and holism were not contradictory terms, but approaches that could be crystallised in a particular (and persuasive) way of doing research. (3) The reason that Gestalt psychology has not been properly integrated into mainstream academic debate in psychology has more to do with the impact of Nazism in Germany than with any theoretical decision. Current important debates in psychology would be very different (and in my opinion better) if we took into account the ideas of these researchers.
If you have recently read a paper in psychology and felt that researchers see people more like a computer than a real person, but at the same time feel that humanistic approaches are too convoluted, then this book may be for you. For me, it is an important eye-opener about how research can be done and what 'scientific' can actually mean. The fact that science is sometimes seen as too detached from life is an important call to rethink our most beloved practice of studying nature.
I think the subtitle of this book is perfect: Holism and the Quest for Objectivity. It elegantly sums up the spirit behind this rigorous attempt to describe German psychology between 1890 and 1967.
The philosophical or methodological spirit that guides the book is the question of whether psychology can create something that is rigorously scientific ('objective', 'reproducible', 'empirical') and at the same time holistic ('humanistic', 'comprehensive', 'non-reductionist'). The main case study is the Gestalt movement, an important landmark of psychological theorising and a forgotten research practice. Spoiler: the reasons for the abandonment of the Gestalt approach have nothing to do with its epistemological value and theoretical richness, but with the social and historical developments around Nazi Germany and the fact that its most relevant figures were mostly of Jewish origin. This fact alone, and the importance that Gestalt practice had in its own time (let us remember that experimental psychology was born in Leipzig, Germany), is enough to warrant a look at its major figures and what they thought about how to develop psychological theory and practice empirical research.
The book is super-comprehensive. So much so, in fact, that I think this may be its greatest flaw: with so many pages, I think most psychologists would hesitate to pick it up at all. A smaller book on the subject could be an important addition to support the so-called 'spirit' of the book. For anyone who doubts whether or not to read the book, I strongly recommend reading the first half and the conclusion. The second half is more concerned with details about the movement which, while important and interesting in themselves, are more geared towards the specialist scholar (the back of the book says "Based on exhaustive research in primary sources, including archival material cited here for the first time...", an important clue as to who the optimal audience is).
The bullet points I take home are the following: (1) German psychology at the end of the XIX century was not an independent branch of science, but a branch of philosophy. This meant that empirical practice was intended to guide and inform philosophical thought. (2) Gestaltists believed that science and holism were not contradictory terms, but approaches that could be crystallised in a particular (and persuasive) way of doing research. (3) The reason that Gestalt psychology has not been properly integrated into mainstream academic debate in psychology has more to do with the impact of Nazism in Germany than with any theoretical decision. Current important debates in psychology would be very different (and in my opinion better) if we took into account the ideas of these researchers.
If you have recently read a paper in psychology and felt that researchers see people more like a computer than a real person, but at the same time feel that humanistic approaches are too convoluted, then this book may be for you. For me, it is an important eye-opener about how research can be done and what 'scientific' can actually mean. The fact that science is sometimes seen as too detached from life is an important call to rethink our most beloved practice of studying nature.
Displaying 1 of 1 review