Max Wertheimer Productive Thinking

by Max Wertheimer, Viktor Sarris (Editor)

Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), a pioneer of 20th-century psychology, had a major influence on the development of cognitive psychology, especially the psychology of perception and of productive thinking. His work "Productive Thinking" (1945), written in New York, is regarded as a milestone in creativity research. Consisting of many examples of creative thought processes - from geometric tasks to socio-psychologically relevant conflict resolutions to the development of Einstein's theory of relativity - the book leads the reader through a multi-faceted body of thought in the psychology of thinking. Only a few texts in psychology have remained significant even after a period of three quarters of a century - Max Wertheimer's Productive Thinking is such an exception. This book, which also presents an exposition of Gestalt psychology, highlights the "productive" (insightful) versus automatic (unreflected) thought processes for many areas of life. In addition to examples from school teaching, the chapter on the emergence of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity is of lasting interest to today's generation of psychologists, pedagogues, brain researchers, neuroscientists and philosophers. Wertheimer had the unique opportunity to analyze Einstein's thinking in direct conversation. An introductory commentary by Viktor Sarris for this new edition of the first publication of Productive Thinking in 1945 offers a detailed account of the genesis and reception of Wertheimer's work.

Genres: Psychology

266 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

Max Wertheimer was an Austro-Hungarian-born psychologist who was one of the three founders of Gestalt psychology, along with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler. He is known for his book, Productive Thinking, and for conceiving the phi phenomenon as part of his work in Gestalt psychology.

Wertheimer became interested in psychology and studied under Carl Stumpf at the University of Berlin. Wertheimer then went on to obtain his PhD in 1904 under Oswald Külpe, at the University of Würzburg and then began his intellectual career teaching at the Frankfurt University. For a short time he left Frankfurt to work at the Berlin Psychological Institute, but returned in 1929 as a full professor. Wertheimer eventually ended up on the faculty of The New School in New York, a position he held until his death.

Reviews

[Gordon Eldridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a new edition of a text first published in 1945, by the gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer. Wertheimer's claim is that both formal logic and association theory are inadequate for explaining thinking that leads to creative solutions, which he calls 'productive thinking'. The book unfolds by looking at specific examples of thinking, such as children trying to work out the area of a parallelogram or historic examples such as how Einstein came up with the theory or relativity.

The explanations of these thought processes are quite technical and some of the details can be difficult to follow for the non-mathematician or non-scientist, but the overall thesis is clear, namely that unless we consider the 'whole' in our thinking and how each part contributes to that whole, we will never be truly able to think productively.

The style is typical of its age, which makes it sound a little stilted and is somewhat repetitive in places, but the book is still an interesting read and still has value many decades after its initial publication.

[Heli · Rating 5 out of 5]

See on üks põhjalik teos. Wertheimer selgitab väga paeluvalt ja vahel ka raskesti jälgitavalt konkreetsete näidete põhjal, mis see mõtlemine on just produktiivsetel juhtudel, et mis seal peas sul toimub. Ta vastandub paljudele kaasaegsetele, kes justkui mõttepeeretusi väljutasid teooriate näol ja on jõle põhjalik. Tänu sellele raamatule sain lõpuks midagi päriselt aru relatiivsusteooria sisust.
Ta läheb asja tuumani, ent teda on raske kasutada kontekstides, kus inimesed pole tuttavad sellega või mõne muu teooriaga, mis temale toetub, sest et ta teistele nii tugevalt vastandub (kuigi hulka sõbralikumalt kui mõned teised!)

[Denis Vasilev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мышление на примере реконструкции одхода к задачам реальных людей, например Эйнштейна

[Whoof · Rating 4 out of 5]

gestalt problem solving