Cristián Hernández Maturana

The introduction critiques the presentist interpretation of psychology’s history, arguing that it oversimplifies the field’s evolution by viewing past theories through a contemporary lens. It emphasizes that early twentieth-century experimental psychology was not the sole or final form of the discipline. The historical narrative should include diverse approaches from the nineteenth century, reflecting a richer and more complex picture of psychological thought. The present book aims to broaden this historical account, integrating various intellectual movements like German Idealism and Romanticism that greatly influenced the development of psychology. After an outline presentation of the main intellectual movements in Germany at the beginning of the nineteenth century (Aufklärung, idealism, romanticism and Naturphilosophie), we present the chapters of this first volume of Forgotten Streams arranged in three categories: empirical, romantic, and idealist psychologies.

This chapter provides a brief characterization of Immanuel Hermann Fichte’s anthropological and psychological project. After a biographical sketch and an examination of the intellectual context in which Fichte develops his project, this chapter provides a depiction of Fichte’s conception of anthropology and psychology as two different but continuous moments of an empirically founded speculative philosophy of the human soul. It is shown that Fichte conceives of his psychology as a history of the development of consciousness in the thinking, feeling, and willing activities of the human soul.

Este artículo examina la relación entre la libertad humana y el conocimiento intuitivo en el contexto de la Ética demostrada según el orden geométrico de Spinoza. En la Ética hay básicamente dos formas distinguibles de la libertad humana. La primera, respecto a la cual hay acuerdo general, corresponde a la idea de la libertad como emancipación del dominio de factores determinantes, como los afectos pasivos y las ideas inadecuadas. Mediante tal proceso de emancipación, el cual incluye la formación de ideas adecuadas y la producción de afectos activos, el alma humana puede alcanzar un estado de sabiduría y felicidad. La segunda, a favor de la cual argumenta este artículo, corresponde a la potencia del intelecto humano de causar adecuadamente el acto supremo de autoconocimiento intuitivo, en el cual coincide con y participa de la actividad causal de la sustancia, es decir, de su libertad absoluta.

The present article addresses the question of the adequate knowledge of nature in the context of Immanuel Hermann Fichte's philosophy of nature. After an examination of the position and role that this systematic problem has both in Karl Joël's book Der Ursprung der Naturphilosophie aus dem Geiste der Mystik and in contemporary research on the Anthropocene, this article offers a depiction of Fichte's conception of the aposterioric-speculative mode of knowledge of nature. Finally, Fichte's conception of knowledge of nature is brought up for discussion both with Joël's epistemological thesis and with certain approaches of contemporary research on the Anthropocene. It is shown that Fichte's philosophy offers a productive perspective to addressing contemporary problems of the Anthropocene.

This article addresses the question of the object of psychology in the context of recent attempts in philosophy of mind to restore the concept of the soul in the framework of a strong anthropological dualism. After an historical and philosophical explanation of the modern dismissal of the human soul as the object of psychology, this article provides a critical examination of the new turn to dualism by reference to an exemplary case. It is shown that apriorism and spiritualism are the two fundamental problems that explain neodualism’s inefficacy to provide a convincing argument for the restoration of the substantial soul as the object of psychology. Finally, certain guidelines for a new approach to this question are proposed in rudimentary form.

The 19th century was a defining era for psychology, rich with an intellectual diversity that shaped modern thought but which remains largely overlooked. The roots of 20th century thought can be traced to the 19th century, when a mechanical worldview took hold, society grew increasingly secular, modern urban metropolises emerged, and evolutionist ideas reshaped the understanding of nature’s developmental principles. Throughout this century, the natural sciences extended beyond their traditional limits, influencing and reshaping the human, moral, and social sciences, among which psychology was especially impacted, as this transformation sparked profound debates on the very possibility of a science of the soul. Forgotten Streams in the History of 19th-Century German Psychology recovers the vibrant roots of psychology in empiricism, romanticism, idealism, phenomenology, among other streams of thought that explored consciousness, the soul, and the self before experimental psychology took center stage. Unlike the standard view, this book invites readers to reconsider psychology’s history, revealing a complex landscape that questions the simplistic story of a linear path toward empiricism. Through profiles of significant yet forgotten thinkers, this work uncovers how their ideas contributed to discussions of the unconscious, mind-body duality, and inner experience. Written by leading scholars, each chapter offers a unique window into an intellectual movement that continues to influence debates in psychology, philosophy, and beyond. Essential for historians, psychologists, and anyone curious about psychology’s deeper origins, Forgotten Streams is an indispensable reference that fills an important gap, enriching our understanding of psychology’s complex and multifaceted development.

The 19th century was a defining era for psychology, rich with an intellectual diversity that shaped modern thought but which remains largely overlooked. The roots of 20th century thought can be traced to the 19th century, when a mechanical worldview took hold, society grew increasingly secular, modern urban metropolises emerged, and evolutionist ideas reshaped the understanding of nature’s developmental principles. Throughout this century, the natural sciences extended beyond their traditional limits, influencing and reshaping the human, moral, and social sciences, among which psychology was especially impacted, as this transformation sparked profound debates on the very possibility of a science of the soul. Forgotten Streams in the History of 19th-Century German Psychology recovers the vibrant roots of psychology in empiricism, romanticism, idealism, phenomenology, among other streams of thought that explored consciousness, the soul, and the self before experimental psychology took center stage. Unlike the standard view, this book invites readers to reconsider psychology’s history, revealing a complex landscape that questions the simplistic story of a linear path toward empiricism. Through profiles of significant yet forgotten thinkers, this work uncovers how their ideas contributed to discussions of the unconscious, mind-body duality, and inner experience. Written by leading scholars, each chapter offers a unique window into an intellectual movement that continues to influence debates in psychology, philosophy, and beyond. Essential for historians, psychologists, and anyone curious about psychology’s deeper origins, Forgotten Streams is an indispensable reference that fills an important gap, enriching our understanding of psychology’s complex and multifaceted development.

This book addresses the question of the nature and the immortality of the human soul in the context of Immanuel Hermann Fichte's philosophical anthropology. In particular, it undertakes a systematic and immanent reconstruction of Fichte's argument for the substantiality, individuality, preexistence, and perduration of the human soul. This monographic investigation fills a research gap which is long pending and offers not only impulses for research on late idealism, but also and above all important insights and guiding principles for a philosophy of the human spirit adequate for the present.