"A complex of representations is not the representation of a complex." --Anon.

Is a melody just a series of notes that must be put together cognitively, or is it immediately perceived as having a unified structure? Is the field of vision (or are the things in the field of vision) perceived as so many independent pixels, or is organization and structural unity a primitive visual fact? How do concepts and meanings interact with (or get expressed through) organization and structure? We will examine the unity and organization of perception (primarily visual, but also auditory) as discussed by the Gestalt psychologists and Wittgenstein. Readings from Ehrenfels, Koehler, Koffka, and Wittgenstein, together with some secondary literature by Barry Smith and others.

There will be two papers, due Oct. 25 (7-8 pp., assigned topics) and Dec. 11 (12-15 pp., negotiated topic). Paragraph assignments possible. Weekly participation expected. Undergraduates need permission.

Required but out of stock indefinitely:
Wolfgang Koehler, Gestalt Psychology. Many used copies are available, at reasonable prices. Please get the 1947 or later edition. Do not buy the Mentor/NAL copies (which often cost $1.50 or so); the pagination is different and the paper and binding are poor. Purchase the Liveright or Norton edition.

Also required:
Kurt Koffka, Principles of Gestalt Psychology. Several copies are available in Van Pelt. For those with an ongoing interest in the topic, many used copies are available.

Brief Schedule

Recommended background reading:
Hatfield, Natural and Normative, chs. 2-5 (Penn Library Web; Phil Lib)
James, Principles of Psychology, ch. 20 (vol. 2, pp. 134-282).

Weeks 1-5: Helmholtz, Mach, Ehrenfels, Koffka

Weeks 6-11: Wittgenstein, Koehler

Week 12: TBD

Detailed Schedule

Week 1 (9/12): Hatfield, Natural and Normative, chs. 4-5 (Penn Library Web; Phil Lib); and Smith, Austrian Philosophy, ch. 1.
Recommended: Smith, chs. 2-3 (on Brentano).

Week 2 (9/19): Mach, Analysis, chs. 1-5 (to p. 108). Mach's elements: atoms or patches? Neutral monism.
Recommended: James, Principles, ch. 20 (II:134-282).

Week 3 (9/26): Ehrenfels, "On 'Gestalt Qualities'," and two short pieces; Mulligan & Smith, "Mach and Ehrenfels" (Bb, Phil Lib). Gestalt qualities as supervening on atomic sensations.

Week 4 (10/3): Koffka, chs. 1-3. Against atomism. Gestalt configurations as primitive. Privacy. Meaning.
Recommended: Edward H. Madden, "The Philosophy of Science in Gestalt Theory," in Readings in the Philosophy of Science, ed. by H. Feigl and M. Brodbeck.

Week 5 (10/10): Koffka, chs. 4-5; Smith, ch. 8. Visual organization, figure and ground.

Week 6 (10/17): Wittgenstein, PI 1-133; Simons, "Logical Atomism," and McGinn, "Wittgenstein's Conception of Mind" (CHP 1870-1945).
Recommended: Sluga, "Life and Work" (CCW).

First paper due 10/25 (assigned topics).

Week 7 (10/31): Wittgenstein, PI 134-242; Fogelin, "Wittgenstein's Critique of Philosophy" (CCW).

Week 8 (11/7): Wittgenstein, PI 238-315; Sluga, "Wittgenstein on the Self" (CCW).

Week 9 (11/14): Koehler, GP, chs. 1-3.

Week 10 (11/21): Wittgenstein, PI 316-693.

Week 11 (11/28): Wittgenstein, PI, pp. 148-197; Koehler, GP, chs. 5-6.

Week 12 (12/5): Wittgenstein, PI, II.xi; Koehler, GP, ch. 7.

Second paper due Dec. 11 (no extensions).