This book reconstructs the rise and fall of Wilhelm Wundt's fortunes, focusing for the first time on the role of Richard Avenarius as catalyst for the so-called "positivist repudiation of Wundt." Krauss specifically looks at the progressive disavowal of Wundtian ideas in the world of scientific psychology, and especially by his former pupils.This book provides important historical context and a critical discussion of the current state of research, in addition to a detailed consideration of Wundt's and Avenarius' systems of thought, as well as on their personal relationship. The author outlines the reception of Avenarius' conceptions among Wundt's pupils, such as Külpe, Münsterberg and Titchener, and among other psychologists of the time, such as Ward, James and Ebbinghaus. Finally, this book presents Wundt's two-fold attempt to respond to the new trend through a criticism of the "materialistic" psychology, and a reformulation of his own ideas.

Autorentext

Chiara Russo Krauss, Ph.D., is researcher at the University of Naples Federico II," where she teaches history of philosophy. Her field of expertise is German philosophy of the late 19th century, with a focus on the problems arising from the development of modern sciences. She published studies on Wilhelm von Humboldt, Neo-Kantianism, Oswald Külpe, Wilhelm Wundt, and Richard Avenarius.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Introduction1.1 Wundt and the Rise of Scientific Psychology1.2 The Historiography of Wundtism1.3 Mach and Avenarius in the History of Philosophy1.4 The Aim of the Book
Chapter 2. Richard Avenarius2.1 Avenarius' Relationship with Wundt2.2 The Critique of Introjection2.3 Object and Purpose of Psychology2.4 Mach and Avenarius2.5 Psychophysical ParallelismChapter 3. Wilhelm Wundt and the Crisis in the Relationship with Avenarius3.1 The "Ideal-Realistic" Approach3.2 Physical and Psychical Causality3.3 Physiology and Psychology3.4 Psychology and the Spiritual Sciences3.5 The Break with AvenariusChapter 4. The Spread of the New Definition of Psychology4.1 The Repudiation of Wundt: Oswald Külpe's Grundriss4.2 A Philosophical Deepening: Hugo Münsterberg4.3 The Circle Widens: Ebbinghaus and Ward4.4 A Synthesis: E. B. Titchener (with a Digression on William James)Chapter 5. Wundt's Reaction
5.1 The Appropriation of the Definition of Psychology by Point of View5.2 Two Interpretations of Psychological Parallelism5.3 Against the Materialistic Definition of Psychology5.4 The Final Charge against Avenarius5.5 Closing Remarks