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ANTECEDENTS TO FECHNER'S LAW: THE ASTRONOMERS J. HERSCHEL, W. R. DAWES, AND N. R. POGSON
Author(s) -
Pliskoff Stanley S.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1901/jeab.1977.28-185
Subject(s) - philosophy , physics , law , political science
The history of the stellar magnitude scale is briefly traced from the second century B .c. until the middle of the nineteenth century. It becomes clear that astronomers formulated “Fechner's Law” by about 1850. While Fechner is credited with the grander view of things, the contention is made that the astronomers John Herschel, W. R. Dawes, and N. R. Pogson have not been given their due by historians of psychology.