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Oswald Külpe (; August 3, 1862 – December 30, 1915) was one of the structural psychologists of the late 19th and early 20th century. Külpe, who is lesser known than his German mentor, Wilhelm Wundt, revolutionized experimental psychology at his time. In his obituary, Aloys Fischer wrote that, “undoubtedly Külpe was the second founder of experimental psychology on German soil; for with every change of base he made it a requirement that an experimental laboratory should be provided.”〔Ogden, R. M. (1951). Oswald Külpe and the Würzburg school. The American Journal of Psychology, 64, 4-19.〕 Külpe studied as a doctoral student and assistant to Wundt at the University of Leipzig, though his ideas differed from Wundt as he developed his own research (Boring, 1961). Külpe made significant contributions to the field of psychology, some of which are still relevant to this day, including the systematic experimental introspection, imageless thoughts, mental sets, and abstraction. == Biography == In August 1862, Oswald Külpe was born in Kandau, Courland, one of the Baltic providences of Russia. However, his father, a notary, and his mother were German. Consequently, Külpe’s native tongue was German. He had a brother, Alfons Külpe who was a clergyman, and a sister who was a nurse. He lived a large portion of his life with his older, unmarried cousins, Ottillie and Marie Külpe, at their residences in Leipzig, Würzburg, Bonn, and Munich.〔 He never married either and throughout the years he devoted an immense amount of his time to his work.〔Lindenfeld, D. "Oswald Külpe and The Würzburg School". The Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. 1978〕 It was said that Külpe would joke that science was his bride. He learned Russian during his training at the ''Gymnasium'' at Libau, where he graduated in 1879. He then taught history and other subjects at a boys’ school for a year and a half before relocating to Leipzig.〔 In 1881 he enrolled in the University of Leipzig. He focused his studies mostly on history, however he attended the lectures of Wilhem Wundt. In these he became familiar with the blossoming field of psychology, the area upon which his life work eventually would be focused.〔Ogden, R.M." Oswald Külpe and the Würzburg School". The American Journal of Psychology. 1951〕 In between 1882 and 1883, Külpe studied at the University of Berlin, where he attended the lectures of Heinrich von Treitschke, a nationalist German historian. Following his studies in Berlin, he transferred to Gottingen, where he spent two years as a student of Georg Elias Müller, where it is said he received the idea for his doctoral dissertation.〔 Following his time with Müller, he returned to Leipzig to study under Wundt as his assistant in the autumn of 1886.〔 On October 12, 1887, Külpe was awarded his PhD. He titled his thesis “Zur Theorie der sinnlichen Gefühle”, or in English, The Theory of Sensual Feeling. This is a topic that Külpe was interested in over the course of his life, and especially influenced his later studies and lectures on esthetics. He then became Privatdozent at the University of Leipzig, before being promoted to a professorship extraordinarius in 1894. In October 1984, he attended Würzburg as professor ordinarius, the highest obtainable rank as a professor at a German university, for both philosophy and esthetics. It was here in 1896 that Külpe founded a psychological laboratory. He was able to increase the size and improve the equipment until the Würzburg laboratory became the most outstanding institute of psychology in Germany aside from Leipzig. Here, he trained numerous influential psychologists including the likes of Max Wertheimer, Kaspar Ach, and Henry Watt.〔 Following fifteen years of service at the lead of the Würzburg laboratory, Külpe also established first-rate psychological institutes at the University of Bonn and the University of Munich.〔 It was his innovative experimental psychology methods and success in establishing these psychological institutes that led to Külpe being referred to as the second founder of experimental psychology on German soil. Though Külpe and Wundt differed on matters of principle, Külpe regarded Wundt highly and published three tributes to him.〔 In his later years, Külpe began to focus less on psychological issues and more on his interests in philosophical problems such as esthetics, where it seemed his true passion lay. Just before the Christmas of 1915, Külpe suffered a bout of influenza. He recovered to the point where he was able to return to his university teachings. He was, however, suffering from a heart infection, which he succumbed to on December 30, after a few days of illness. It was said that had he lived longer, Külpe likely would have accepted the request to succeed Friederich Jodl and establish a psychological laboratory at the University of Vienna as well.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Oswald Külpe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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