Karl Duncker

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Karl Duncker (born February 2, 1903 in Leipzig ; † February 23, 1940 in exile in the US) was a German psychologist and co-founder of Gestalt theory .

Life

His parents were the communist politicians Hermann Duncker and Käte Duncker .

Until the dissolution of the Psychological Institute in 1935, Karl Duncker was a student and employee of the founders of Gestalt psychology at the Berlin School, Max Wertheimer , Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka . In 1934 his habilitation in Berlin initially failed due to political objections, but the text was published in 1935. In the same year he found a job in exile in England, in Cambridge with Frederic Charles Bartlett and was then appointed by Wolfgang Köhler to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania .

Even during his time in England, Duncker repeatedly suffered from severe depressive moods . In 1937 he went to Switzerland for two months for treatment at Ludwig Binswanger's “ Sanatorium Bellevue ” clinic . But neither the treatment at Binswanger nor his subsequent move to the USA brought any significant improvement in his condition. Although Duncker was able to work again and, above all, Wolfgang Köhler and his family went to great lengths to look after him personally, but ultimately in vain: shortly after his 37th birthday, Duncker committed suicide.

Services

His scientific contributions include his work on productive thinking and creative problem-solving processes , the critique of behaviorism , the phenomenology of feelings and sensations and the psychology of ethics . The term functional bondage / fixation , which he coined when solving problems, is important. It is used when the function of an element within the task structure is already given during problem solving . The existing function of the element is already so well anchored within the task that changing it necessary to solve it causes considerable difficulties. In one experiment the problem was mounting candles on a wall ( candle problem ). The box required for this was available in the task situation as a container for drawing pins. Their function was therefore bound and it was precisely this functional constraint that had to be overcome in order to free the way to the solution. Then the new function of the box (as a candlestick) could be recorded. The task was restructured due to this change in function . This type of restructuring process can also play a major role in psychotherapy . Duncker's approach to problem solving through restructuring was explicitly integrated into Gestalt theory psychotherapy .

Fonts

  • On the psychology of productive thinking , Springer, Berlin 1935
  • Behaviorism and Gestalt Psychology . In: Knowledge 3 , pp. 162–176
  • Learning and insight in the service of achieving goals . In: Acta Psychologica , Hague, 1, pp. 77-82
  • Ethical Relativity? An inquiry into the psychology of ethics . In: Mind 48 , pp. 39–57 (German translation published in Gestalt Theory 25 , 1 / 2-2003, pp. 33–52)
  • On Pleasure, Emotion, and Striving (PDF; 139 kB) . In: Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 1 , pp. 391-430. (German translation published in Gestalt Theory 24 , 2/2002, pp. 75–116)
  • Appearance and knowledge of the human. Articles 1927–1940. Edited by H. Boege and H.-JP Walter , Verlag Krammer, Vienna 2008 ( ISBN 3-901811-26-5 )

literature

  • D. Brett King, Michaella Cox, Michael Wertheimer: Karl Duncker - Productive Problems with beautiful Solutions . In: Gestalt Theory 25 , 1 / 2-2003, pp. 95-110
  • Hans-Jürgen Walter: “You can't kill a difference” - on Karl Duncker's 100th birthday . In: Gestalt Theory 25 , 1 / 2-2003, pp. 7–52
  • Wolfgang Zöller: Productive thinking and psychotherapy . In: Gestalt Theory 15 , 3 / 4-1993, pp. 217-226

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ King, Cox & Wertheimer 2003: Karl Duncker - Productive Problems with beautiful Solutions , p. 106ff.
  2. ↑ see W. Zöller 1993, Productive Thinking and Psychotherapy
personal data
SURNAME Duncker, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German psychologist and co-founder of Gestalt theory
DATE OF BIRTH February 2, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig , Kingdom of Saxony , German Empire
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1940