MW
Philosophy & Social Sciences

Max Wertheimer

Who

Max Wertheimer · Philosophy & Social Sciences

What

Founder of Gestalt psychology

When

1880, Prague, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic) — 1943, New Rochelle, New York, USA

Where

Prague · Frankfurt · Berlin · New York

Biography

Max Wertheimer is recognized among Jewish contributors to Philosophy & Social Sciences — Founder of Gestalt psychology

How & why

Wertheimer founded Gestalt psychology, demonstrating with his 1912 study of apparent motion (the phi phenomenon) that the mind perceives organized wholes rather than sums of isolated sensations. His principle that 'the whole is other than the sum of its parts' reshaped the psychology of perception, thought and problem-solving. Born into a Jewish family in Prague, he fled Nazi Germany in 1933 and continued his work in the United States.

Sources & external links

Verify and go deeper with these external references.

Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Philosophy

Contributions & Sources

Founder of Gestalt psychology

1880

Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Philosophy