Gustav Theodor Fechner: Biography Of The Father Of Psychophysics
Although interest in the human psyche has existed since ancient times, it is not until the contributions of Wilhelm Wundt and his creation of the first laboratory dedicated to his research that the birth of psychology as a scientific discipline is not considered.
But the truth is that in addition to Wundt, other authors have been of great importance in the beginnings and development of psychology as a science, with its first moments being linked to the creation of psychophysics. In this sense, the figure of Gustav stands out Theodor Fechner, considered the father of this discipline and of whom a brief biography is presented in this article
Son of a Protestant pastor, Gustav Theodor Fechner was born on April 19, 1801 in Gross-Särchen , territory belonging to Germany today. His initial education was traditional and in a religious setting, with spirituality being an aspect that would have great relevance in his life. His father died of illness when Fechner was five years old. What followed next was one of the most important careers in the scientific study of psychophysics.
Years of training, marriage and teaching position
Fechner was initially interested in medicine, beginning his studies in this subject at the Medizinisch-Chirurgische Akademie in Dresden. However, in 1818 he would enter the University of Leipzig, where he would meet and work with Weber. His interests varied towards the world of physics. At the age of 29 he would meet Clara Volkmann , whom she would marry three years later. In 1834, a year after marrying, he accepted a position at the university as a professor of physics.
It would be when he began to investigate color that he would begin to professionally show his interest in the psychic, initially working with color perception and subjectivity with which it was captured, carrying out different experiments in this matter.
Brief incapacitation and reflection regarding philosophy
In 1840 Fechner would suffer a severe vision problem , caused largely by prolonged exposure of his retina to the sun, which would leave him blind. The effects of blindness, along with the pressure he was under as a university professor, ended up making Fechner so incapacitated that he had to temporarily leave his position as a university professor. He suffered from deep depression for about three years.
In this period of their life they grew his concerns regarding the essence of things and metaphysical aspects such as the soul and the body. This author considered that the physical and the spiritual were not separate elements, but rather reflected different sides of the same reality. He maintained that all living beings had their own soul, and even inorganic matter possessed spirit, a view reminiscent of that of the philosopher Baruch Spinoza. After three years, he emerged from his depressed state to begin to feel sensations of well-being, euphoria and exaltation that he himself would call the pleasure principle.
The interest in the metaphysical aspects of reality and the conviction that body and mind were united would lead him to, once recovered, re-entered the University of Leipzig as a professor , but this time about philosophy. In 1848 he would publish Nanna; oder Über das Seelenleben der Pflanzen (Nanna or about the spiritual life of plants) and Zend-Avesta; oder Über die Dinge des Himmels und des Jenseits, von Standpunkt der Naturbetrachtung (Zend-Avesta or about the things of heaven and the afterlife from the point of view of nature), both works that would deal with elements such as the link between body and spirit.
Fechner would carry out various experiments to demonstrate the mind-body link, and searched for years for a mathematical model and an equation that would determine the existence of a relationship between material and spiritual/mental aspects.
His research includes the analysis and observation of the models proposed by Weber and the observation of the existence of absolute and relative thresholds in the capture of stimuli, having great importance in the improvement and expansion of what is known as “Weber’s Law”.
In 1860 he systematized his works and discoveries and published the book that would cause psychophysics to be born as its own discipline “Elements of psychophysics”, in which he explored the mathematical and physical relationships between body and mind through the investigation of sensation and perception.
It also explored aspects such as measurement errors , and his interest in the spiritual continued in aspects such as spiritualism or what is currently known as parapsychology. He continued to publish various works dedicated to different aspects, such as aesthetics, and expanding his interest and research into topics close to the pleasure principle or humor.
Fechner’s death and legacy
Gustav Theodor Fechner died on November 1887 in Leipzig. His works have represented a notable advance that allowed psychology to be born as a science, influencing authors such as Wundt or Sigmund Freud.
Psychophysics and the psychometry that is derived from it Likewise, it continues to be an important part of current experimental psychology, especially that which has to do with behaviorism.
