Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences Advance Access originally published online on October 23, 2008
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 2009 64(2):213-249; doi:10.1093/jhmas/jrn058
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Physiological Optics, Cognition and Emotion: A Novel Look at the Early Work of Wilhelm Wundt
Correspondence: * Institut d'histoire et de philosophie des sciences et des techniques, 13, rue du Four, 75006 Paris, France. Email: cwassman{at}alumni.uchicago.edu
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Abstract |
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The German physiologist Wilhelm Wundt, who later founded experimental psychology, arguably developed the first modern scientific conception of emotion. In the first edition of Vorlesungen über die Menschen- und Thierseele (Lectures on human and animal psychology), which was published in 1863, Wundt tried to establish that emotions were essential parts of rational thought. In fact, he considered them unconscious steps of decision-making that were implied in all processes of conscious thought. His early work deserves attention not only because it is the attempt to conceptualize cognition and emotion strictly from a neural point of view but also because it represents the very foundation of the debate about the nature of emotion that revolved around William James' theory of emotion during the 1890s. However, this aspect of his work is little known because scholars who have analyzed Wundt's work focused on his late career. Furthermore, historical analysis interpreted Wundt's work within a philosophical framework, rather than placing it in the context of German medical and physiological research in which it belongs. In addition, Wundt's early works are hardly available to an English speaking audience because they were never translated.
Key Words: physiology • emotion • cognition • perception • experimental psychology • epistemology • facial expressions • Wilhelm Wundt • Charles Darwin • William James
I thank the three anonymous reviewers, Jean Gayon (IHPST), Glenn W. Most (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa/University of Chicago), Robert Richards (University of Chicago), Sébastien Greppo (University of Chicago Center in Paris), and Margaret Humphreys, who read versions of the manuscript, for their generous comments and suggestions.