Edgar Rubin and Psychology in Denmark: Figure and Ground [Paperback]

Edgar Rubin?was one of the outstanding pioneers of perceptual psychology in the early twentieth?century. His approach involved a turning away from an earlier elementaristic psychology?towards an approach based on perceptual wholes. Rubins approach is closely?linked to the Gestalt revolution in perceptual psychology and was eagerly embraced by the Gestaltists. This has often led to Rubin being classified as a Gestalt psychologist. This misrepresents his position as is?shown in the book. Rubins aim was to develop a descriptive?psychology  or aspective psychology to use his terminology  which would do full justice to the complex nature of psychological phenomena. Thus he rejected attempts by the Gestalt psychologists to explain diverse phenomena within a single overarching framework. While Rubin is internationally often misclassified as a Gestalt psychologist, in Denmark he is often hailed as a pioneer of a specific Danish school of phenomenology. This also misrepresents Rubins approach who was highly critical of psychological schools. His criticisms of the overambitious theoretical aspirations of Gestalt psychology, his negative attitude towards school formation?in psychology were both highly prescient. What remains today of Gestalt psychology?is primarily its descriptive parts; the idea of schools of psychology, so common in early?twentieth century psychology is now seen as a totally outmoded viewpoint. There is?an interesting moral in this story for the history and status of psychology; to wit,?that Rubins emphasis on the correct description of psychological phenomena shows?what is likely to live on as classic contributions to psychology. This certainly holds for?his own work on figure and ground which, after almost a century, is still universally?known and admired by psychologists. He was indeed a consummate psychological?observer. The book argues for the importance of description in psychology.This book presents a scientific biography of Edgar Rubinl3¬