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Wilhelm Wundt's contribution to John Dewey's functional psychology
Author(s) -
Shook John R.
Publication year - 1995
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(199510)31:4<347::aid-jhbs2300310403>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - teleology , instrumentalism , epistemology , functionalism (philosophy of mind) , allegiance , philosophy , structuralism (philosophy of science) , metaphysics , organicism , objectivism , naturalism , hegelianism , apperception , gestalt psychology , opposition (politics) , law , politics , political science , perception
John Dewey's functionalism and instrumentalism arose from his defense of a teleological understanding of human activity and intelligence. E. B. Titchener's counterdefense of structuralism in the late 1890s placed Wundt's psychological methodology in opposition to functionalism. However, investigations that convincingly re‐interpret Wundt instead permit the disclosure of much fundamental agreement. Examination of Dewey's earliest work shows that his commitment to teleology, with its attendant organicist and voluntarist orientation, arose from an early allegiance to G. S. Morris's Aristotelianized neo‐Hegelianism and an inspirational debt to Wundt's psychology and philosophy. William James's influence on Dewey's development toward instrumentalism must be accordingly de‐emphasized.