Objeto e método na psicologia de Wilhelm Wundt e Edward Titchener: um estudo comparativo

Abstract

The aim of this work is to compare the definitions of subject and method introduced in Wilhelm Wundt‟s and Edward Titchener‟s projects of experimental psychology. Considering the mistaken proximity between the authors which is found in handbooks of psychology and the shortage of more systematic studies about Titchener‟s work, especially in the Brazilian context, the comparisons between the ideas of both authors, available in the secondary literature, they still have not been sufficient to demonstrate the differences between their proposals. Due to this situation, it is proposed a comparison of the definitions of subject and method in psychology, specifically in the works which represent the period of maturity of Wundt‟s ideas, with those ones which characterize the classical expression of Titchener‟s structuralism. The central thesis is, in function of the distinct theoretical assumptions, the notions of the human experience and the realm of the psychic acquire a different meaning in the thought of each author, forming this way different subjects of study and, consequently, a different understanding about the possibilities and limits of the experimental method.