Although interest in the human psyche has existed since antiquity, it is not until the contributions of Wilhelm Wundt and the creation by him of the first laboratory dedicated to his research that the birth of psychology as a scientific discipline is considered.

But the truth is that besides Wundt, other authors have been of great importance in the beginnings and development of psychology as a science, being the first moments of this one linked to the creation of psychophysics. In this sense, the figure of Gustav Theodor Fechner stands out, considered the father of this discipline and of whom this article presents a brief biography .

Brief biography of Gustav Theodor Fechner

Son of a Protestant pastor, Gustav Theodor Fechner was born on April 19, 1801 in Gross-Särchen , a territory that belongs to Germany today. His initial education was traditional and in a religious environment, being the spiritual an aspect that would have great relevance in his life. His father died from illness when Fechner was five years old. What followed was one of the most important careers in the scientific study of psychophysics.

Years of training, marriage and teaching position

Fechner initially became interested in medicine, starting his studies in this field at the Medizinisch-Chirurgische Akademie in Dresden. However, in 1818 he would enter the University of Leipzig, where he would meet and work with Weber. His interests shifted towards the world of physics. At the age of 29 he met Clara Volkmann , whom he would marry three years later. In 1834, one year after their marriage, he would accept a position at the university as a professor of physics.

It was when he started to investigate about colour that he began to show his professional interest in the psychic, working initially with the perception of colour and the subjectivity with which it was captured, carrying out different experiments in this matter.

Brief incapacitation and reflection on philosophy

In 1840 Fechner would suffer a severe vision problem , caused in large part by prolonged exposure of his retina to the sun, which would leave him blind. The effects of the blindness, together with the pressure he was subjected to as a university professor, ended up making Fechner so incapacitated that he had to temporarily leave his position as a university professor. He suffered from deep depression for about three years.

In this period of his life his concerns about the essence of things and metaphysical aspects such as the soul and the body grew . This author considered that the physical and the spiritual were not separate elements, but reflected different faces of the same reality. He held that all living beings had their own soul, and even inorganic matter possessed spirit, a viewpoint reminiscent of the philosopher Baruch Spinoza. After three years, he came out of his depressed state to start feeling feelings of well-being, euphoria and exaltation that he would call the principle of pleasure.

The interest in the metaphysical aspects of reality and the conviction that body and mind were united would lead him, once recovered, to enter again the University of Leipzig as a professor , but this time of philosophy. In 1848 he would publish Nanna; oder Ãœber das Seelenleben der Pflanzen (Nanna or about the spiritual life of plants) and Zend-Avesta; oder Ãœber die Dinge des Himmels und des Jenseits, von Standpunkt der Naturbetrachtung (Zend-Avesta or about the things in the sky and beyond from the point of view of nature), both works dealing with elements such as the link between body and spirit.

The birth of psychophysics

Fechner would carry out various experiments to demonstrate the mind-body link, and for years he searched for a mathematical model and an equation that would determine the existence of a relationship between the material and spiritual/mental aspects.

His research includes the analysis and observation of the models proposed by Weber and the observation of the existence of absolute and relative thresholds in the capture of stimuli, having great importance in the improvement and extension of the so-called “Weber’s Law”.

In 1860 he systematized his works and discoveries and published the book that would cause psychophysics to be born as a discipline of its own , “Elements of Psychophysics”, in which he explored the mathematical and physical relationships between body and mind through the investigation of sensation and perception.

He also explored aspects such as errors of measurement , and his interest in the spiritual continued in aspects such as spiritism or what is currently known as parapsychology. He continued to publish various works dedicated to different aspects, such as aesthetics, and expanding his interest and research in topics close to his principle of pleasure or humor.

Death and legacy of Fechner

Gustav Theodor Fechner died on November 1887 in Leipzig. His works have meant a remarkable advance that allowed psychology to be born as a science, influencing authors such as Wundt or Sigmund Freud.

Psychophysics and the psychometry derived from it , likewise, continues to be an important part of current experimental psychology, especially that which has to do with behaviorism.