Author Archive

Gustav Fechner

Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801–1887) was a German philosopher, physicist, and psychologist who founded psychophysics and formulated the Weber–Fechner law relating physical stimulus intensity to subjective sensation. His major works include Elemente der Psychophysik (1860), which established psychophysics as an experimental science, and Vorschule der Aesthetik (1876), which pioneered experimental aesthetics; his panpsychist writings, such as Zend-Avesta (1851), also influenced later philosophy and psychology.

4 summaries in the archive

Biology Nanna, or On the Soul-Life of Plants (Nanna oder über das Seelenleben der Pflanzen) – Gustav Fechner Gustav Fechner

Fechner argues that plants possess a genuine, diffuse soul-life, extending inwardness beyond humans and animals to the whole…

4 min read

Classic Literature Comparative Anatomy of the Angels (Vergleichende Anatomie der Engel) – Gustav Fechner Gustav Fechner

Fechner's satirical mock-anatomy treats angels as specimens, blending Romantic philosophy and scientific parody.

3 min read

History Of Science Elements of Psychophysics (Elemente der Psychophysik) – Gustav Fechner Gustav Fechner

Fechner's Elemente der Psychophysik founds psychophysics as the measurable science of the lawful relation between body and mind.

9 min read

History of Philosophy The little book of life after death (Das Büchlein vom Leben nach dem Tode) – Gustav Fechner Gustav Fechner

Fechner argues that human life unfolds in three stages and that death is merely a transition to eternal…

7 min read