Gustav Fechner’s 19th century founding of Psychophysics, which served as the beginning of modern psychology, was an attempt to formally study the human soul; that is, create a mathematical description of the relationship between the world described by physics and the human soul represented by consciousness.
You will read the manuscript “The Man who Introduced Soul to Science: Gustav Theodor Fechner” and write a critical analysis/response. Your response should be 5-8 pages and include the following:
1) A summary of the reading describing the central points, issues, or themes.
2) An explanation of the significance of this manuscript to the history of psychology
3) A detailed explanation of the position described drawing on outside sources to shape your explanation. You should include the following:
a. Define Fechner’s Psychophysics
b. Naturphilosophie (Natural Philosophy) is considered the precursor of modern natural science. What was its goal?
c. Fechner earned his medical degree in 1822 and became a Dozent in physiology at Leipzig Medical School. Within a couple of years his academic interests changed. What did they change to and what were the underlying reasons for the change?
d. In December 1839, he resigned his professorship and went into a lengthy period of seclusion. Why?
e. Between 1851 and 1860, Fechner worked out the rationale for measuring human sensory experience in terms of thresholds and just noticeable differences. What, in Fechner’s Psychophysics, is a threshold and what does it imply?
f. What is Fechner’s relationship to Wilhelm Wundt?
Sample Solution