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Looking back on Kurt Lewin: From field theory to action research
Author(s) -
Eng Erling
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(197807)14:3<228::aid-jhbs2300140306>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - field (mathematics) , action (physics) , sociology , epistemology , value (mathematics) , perspective (graphical) , consistency (knowledge bases) , psychology , philosophy , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics , geometry , machine learning , artificial intelligence , computer science
There is a remarkable consistency in the underlying current of Kurt Lewin's thought from his 1917 paper on “the landscape of war,” through his post‐World War Two work in social conflict; namely, the effort to elucidate conflict situations by means of psychological field theory through a phenomenological perspective. The transplantation of Lewin from Germany to America posed a serious problem for the theoretical continuity of his work. The change from a culture placing a high value on theoretical science to one oriented to practical values diminished the meaningfulness of his phenomenological vision. However, it furnished him with opportunities to grapple with pressing human concerns, concerns to which he had always been sensitive. From the necessity of this shift emerged Lewin's notion of “action research” and “group dynamics.” At the same time, these developments served to obscure his failure to develop a psychological counterpart to the physical type of field theory from which he had set out.