Elemente der Psychophysik

by Gustav Theodor Fechner

Bei diesem Werk handelt es sich um eine urheberrechtsfreie Ausgabe.
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Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Philosophy

397 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1860

About the author

Gustav Theodor Fechner (/ˈfɛxnər/; German: [ˈfɛçnɐ]; April 19, 1801 – November 18, 1887), was a German philosopher, physicist and experimental psychologist. An early pioneer in experimental psychology and founder of psychophysics, he inspired many 20th century scientists and philosophers. He is also credited with demonstrating the non-linear relationship between psychological sensation and the physical intensity of a stimulus via the formula: S = K \ln I, which became known as the Weber–Fechner law.

Reviews

[Erick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gustav Theodor Fechner is an interesting figure. He wrote on various topics, and seemingly had a wide interest in subjects. During this time, it wasn’t unusual for a writer to have both an interest in empirical science and an interest in metaphysics and religion. I had read two other books by Fechner. One was basically an anthological reader (entitled Religion of a Scientist), and his The Little Book of Life After Death. Those works show Fechner’s interest in metaphysics and religion. They relate to a large degree to his panpsychism (one can see my review to the Religion of a Scientist for more detail). This book is kind of related to his panpsychism, but far more relevant to Fechner as an empirical scientist.

Basically, this book was Fechner’s attempt to prove Weber’s law (also known as the Weber - Fechner law). According to Britannica, the Weber – Fechner law states that “the change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus. It has been shown not to hold for extremes of stimulation.” This book serves as almost a journal for the experiments of Fechner and others to prove this law. To say that a book dedicated to detailing experiments, and the related graphs indicating outcomes, is a dry read would be an understatement. I appreciate what Fechner was attempting to do, but it would be hard to recommend this book to anyone but those who are really dedicated to reading firsthand early influential works on psychology, which is exactly why I read this. It does serve as a good indicator that this law is accurate. One of the issues that arises when individual human beings are tested on their acuity of sense is that this varies so much from person to person. It can also vary depending on the state of mind of the subject. As Fechner mentions, fatigue can certainly skew experimental results, but it is even more widely known now that when it comes to touch, hearing, seeing, smell, etc, people are not equal. I am near-sighted and have worn glasses since I was sixteen. I also have other issues that affect my sight. Many people have 20/20 vision and see better than I do even with my glasses on. People who lose sight altogether often develop acute hearing. These examples show how difficult it would be to set controls for the kind of experiments Fechner was involved in. Finding a constant would be nigh on impossible. The best that could be hoped for is an approximation, which Fechner acknowledges at the end of the book.

As I said, I read this for its influence on psychology. It’s a difficult book to find in English. This edition is now rare, and I paid almost a hundred dollars to purchase it. I am glad to have read it, but equally glad to be done with it. I give it around 3 stars. I appreciate what Fechner was attempting, but it would be hard to recommend it to anyone except those who have a special interest in psychology and its history. Because of how tedious this book was, I have decided to forgo more psychological reading at this time and start reading the Renaissance and Scholastic philosophers again.