Vittorio Benussi

Vittorio Benussi
Born January 17, 1878
Trieste, Austria-Hungary
Died November 24, 1927
Padua, Italy
Alma mater University of Graz
Era 20th century philosophy
Region Western Philosophy
School Graz School
Austrian school of act psychology
Austrian Realism[1]
Main interests
Psychology

Vittorio Benussi (January 17, 1878 – November 24, 1927) was an Italian psychologist.

Work

Benussi was a member of the Austrian school of act psychology[2] (German: Aktpsychologie), a theory opposed to structuralism. Adherents of act psychology, which was founded by Franz Brentano, held that the most important aspect of the mind is what the mind does, rather than what is merely contained within the mind. As Edwin Boring notes, "When one sees a color, the color itself is not mental. It is the seeing, the act, that is mental."[3][4]:360

In his work, Benussi conducted numerous studies on optical illusions, visual and haptic perception, spatial perception, as well as the perception of time. He also developed one of the first lie detection tests.[2]

References

  1. Gestalt Theory: Official Journal of the Society for Gestalt Theory and Its Applications (GTA), 22, Steinkopff, 2000, p. 94: "Attention has varied between Continental Phenomenology (late Husserl, Merleau-Ponty) and Austrian Realism (Brentano, Meinong, Benussi, early Husserl)".
  2. 1 2 Leonard Zusne (1984). "Biographical Dictionary of Psychology". Google Books. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  3. "Psychology History Timeline". psych.athabascau.ca. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  4. Boring, Edwin (1929). History of Experimental Psychology. Cosmo Publications.


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