Hugo Münsterberg’s contribution to aesthetics
Hugo Münsterberg (1863 – 1916) was a German-American psychologist and one of the pioneers in applied psychology (Forensic, Clinical, Industrial, and Educational psychology).
Münsterberg studied medicine, philosophy, and psychology at the University of Leipzig, where he also received his Ph.D. in 1885 under the supervision of Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of experimental psychology. Subsequently, he studied medicine and received in 1887 his medical degree at the University of Heidelberg. In 1892 William James invited him to Harvard for a three-year term, where he built up an experimental psychology lab similar to Wundt’s lab in Leipzig. In 1895 he returned to Germany. However, because he could not find an adequate position, he finally moved back to Harvard.
Although famous for his research on applied psychology, Münsterberg also supervised experiments on empirical aesthetics in his lab at Harvard University, what is less well known. Moreover, he also wrote a book on aesthetics (art education), where he outlined his theory (motor impulses) on aesthetics.
In order to make this book easily accessible to a broad readership, we provide Münsterberg’s book on aesthetics in different electronic versions.
- Münsterberg, H. (1904). Principles of Art Education. New York: The Prang Educational Company. <html> <pdf> <epub> <mobi> <azw3>
- Münsterberg, H. (1909). The problem of beauty. The Philosophical Review, 18(2), 121-146. <pdf>
- Münsterberg, H. (1914). Kunst. Chapter IX. In Grundzüge der Psychotechnik (pp. 601-667). Leipzig: Barth. <pdf>