Wilhelm Wundt is an outstanding scientist. His name is still well known thanks to numerous followers who have borrowed from him not only ideas, but also demeanor, lecturing and zest of appearance.
Childhood
Wilhelm Max Wundt was born on August 16, 1832 in Nekarau. He was the last, fourth child in the family. However, the first two children died in early childhood, and brother Ludwig studied and lived in Heidelberg, with his mother’s sister. It so happened that Wilhelm got the role of an only child.
Wundt’s father was a pastor, the family seemed friendly to many, but later Wundt recalled that he often felt lonely and sometimes received punishments from his father for disobedience.
Almost all of Wundt's relatives were well educated and glorified the family in any science. Nobody had such hopes for William, he was considered frivolous and incapable of learning. This was confirmed by the fact that the boy could not pass exams for the 1st grade.
Training
In the second grade, the boys were instructed in the education of Friedrich Müller, assistant father. William fell in love with a mentor with all his heart, he was even closer to him than his parents.
When the young priest was forced to leave for another parish, William was so upset that his father, seeing the suffering of his son, allowed him to live a year before entering the gymnasium with his beloved mentor.
At age 13, Wundt began to study at the Catholic gymnasium of Bruchsal. Studying was given to him with great difficulty, he was significantly behind peers, marks confirmed this.
Wilhelm studied at Bruchsal for only a year, then his parents transferred him to the Heidelberg gymnasium, where he made real friends and began to try to be more diligent in his studies. By the age of 19, he had mastered the gymnasium program and was ready to continue his studies at the university.
Wilhelm entered the University of Tübingen, the Faculty of Medicine, then received his medical education at three other universities.
Strange case
While studying in Heidelberg with Professor Gasse, Wilhelm Wundt worked as an assistant in the women's department of the local clinic, which was headed by the professor. Due to lack of money, the student had to be on duty for days, he was so tired that he was hardly woken up to bypass the sick.
Once there was a funny incident. At night, Wundt was woken up to examine a patient with typhoid fever who was delirious. Wundt went to her half asleep. He performed all the actions mechanically: he talked with the nurse, and examined the patient, and made appointments. As a result, instead of a sedative, the young assistant gave sick iodine (then it seemed to him that this was a sedative). Fortunately, the patient spat him out right away. Wundt understood what happened only when he returned to his room. The state of drowsiness in which he acted did not give him rest. In the morning he told everything to the professor and only then he calmed down a little. But this incident made a very deep impression on the young man. Recalling his feelings, Wundt came to the conclusion that his perception then differed from reality: the distances seemed larger, the words were heard as if from a distance, but at the same time he perceived everything correctly and visually.
Wundt compared his condition to fainting and described it as a mild degree of somnambulism. This incident prompted Wilhelm Wundt to abandon his medical career. The future scientist spent the semester in Berlin, where he studied under the guidance of I.P. Muller; in 1856, Wundt defended his doctoral dissertation in Heidelberg.
Career
In 1858, Wundt became an assistant to Professor Helmholtz, took part in the study of various problems of the natural sciences.
After 6 years, he was given the position of associate professor, Wundt worked at his native university for another 10 years. Since 1867, he began to give lectures, which were very popular among students.
In 1874, William Wundt was invited to Switzerland, to the University of Zurich, and offered to teach logic there. The professor accepted the invitation, but a year later returned to Germany and connected his life with the University of Leipzig, to which he gave almost 40 years and at one time even held the post of rector.
Famous laboratory
In 1879, Wundt, with his own money, created the world's first psychological laboratory.
Wilhelm Wundt's laboratory has become the model by which similar institutions were created in other universities in different parts of the globe.
First, it brought together everyone who wanted to study psychology and philosophy at German universities, and then transformed into a center for graduates from America and England who were interested in studying psychological sciences.
Later, the Psychological Laboratory of Wilhelm Wundt became the Institute of Experimental Psychology (the prototype of modern research institutes).
Features of the laboratory
Initially, the laboratory conducted research in three areas:
- sensations and perceptions;
- psychophysical features;
- reaction time.
Wundt later suggested exploring more associations and feelings.
As students noted, Wilhelm Wundt himself did not conduct experiments in the laboratory. He did not stay there longer than 5-10 minutes.
The teaching method was very peculiar: Wundt gave students leaflets with experimental tasks, checked work reports and decided whose work was worth publishing in Philosophical Studies. This journal was created by the professor himself to accommodate the work of his students.
Lectures
Why were students so fond of attending Wundt's lectures? Let's try to understand what their magic is. To do this, we turn to the memoirs of the students of the great professor, try to travel back a hundred-odd years ago and find ourselves on a student bench in front of the author of immortal psychological works.
So … The door swings open and Wundt enters. He is dressed in all black, from shoes to a tie. Thin and slightly stooped, narrow-shouldered, he seems much taller than his real height. The thick hair was a little thinned on the top of the head; it was covered with curls raised from the sides.
Walking loudly, Wundt goes to a long table, which must be for experimentation. On the table is a small portable shelf for books. The professor selects a suitable piece of chalk for a few seconds, then turns to the audience, rests on a shelf and begins a lecture.
He speaks softly, but in a minute dead silence reigns in the audience. Wundt’s voice is not very pleasant: a thick baritone sometimes turns into something similar to barking, but the fiery and expressiveness of speech did not allow a single word to be inaudible.
The lecture takes place in one breath. Wundt does not use any recordings, his eyes only occasionally fall on his hands, which, incidentally, do not rest for a second: they either sort through the paper, then make some wave-like movements, or help the audience understand the essence of the material, illustrating the professor’s speech.
Wundt completes the lecture on time. Just stooping and stomping loudly, he leaves the audience. Mesmerizing, right?
Books
Wundt left behind a huge scientific legacy. Over his life, he wrote more than 54, 000 pages (it was not for nothing that in childhood the professor dreamed of becoming a famous writer).
Many books of William Wundt were published and reprinted during his lifetime. His contribution to science has been recognized by the entire world scientific community.
- Wilhelm Wundt's first book, Essays on the Study of Muscular Movement, was published in 1858. This book was written when the interests of the scientist had not yet gone beyond physiology, although he was already beginning to "get close" to the study of psychology.
- In the same year, the first part of the work, Essays on the Theory of Sensory Perception, was published. The entire book, On the Theory of Sensory Perception, was published in 1862, when all 4 essays were published.
- 1863 - a significant year for the entire psychological community. It was then that the work "Lectures on the Soul of Man and Animals" was released, where Wundt outlined the range of important problems of experimental psychology.
- In the years 1873-74. published "Fundamentals of physiological psychology" - the core of a new direction in psychology.
- The dream of creating social psychology (cultural-historical) led to work on the fundamental work of a scientist, perhaps the key and most important in his life. "The Psychology of Peoples" consists of 10 volumes, which were published over 20 years, from 1900 to 1920.
Personal life
The personal life of the professor today is almost unknown to anyone. The biography of William Wundt interested everyone in terms of his contribution to science. This is how an outstanding personality is lost behind the curtain of the profession.
Wilhelm Wundt was very modest, unpretentious in everyday life. Everything in his life was clearly ordered, as the diaries of his wife, Sophie Mau, testify to:
- Morning - work on manuscripts, acquaintance with new publications, editing a magazine.
- Noon - work at the university, visiting the laboratory, meeting with students.
- Afternoon - a walk.
- Evening - receiving guests, talking, playing music.
Wundt was not poor, his family lived in abundance, and there was a servant. In his house guests were always welcome.
