Metaphysic, logic and psychology: from Trendelenburg to Brentano

The aim of this research project is to study the meaning and the influence of the knowledge theory and the psychological ideas of F. A. Trendelenburg in the context of German philosophy of the mid Nineteenth century, taking into special consideration the birth and diffusion of neo-kantism, the debate on psychologism and the spreading of new needs to reconsideration of logics and the knowledge theory as a whole. First of all it has to be pointed out that there is a lack of analytical and complete studies in the field of critic literature dealing with these themes during the period considered. The key-problem inspiring research consists in underlining Trendelenburg`s perspective from a historical and critical point of view and his contribution to the creation of a paradigm for psychological research and to study the knowledge processes, a very different contribution from the one currently in use in experimental psychology, a paradigm that will give birth to the psychology of action and phenomenological psychology of the Austrian psychologist and philosopher F. Brentano. The innovative contributions that this research work is proposing can be summarized in the following key points: 1. A historical and critical presentation of Trendelenburg psychological theories contained in plenty of unpublished material, almost completely unused as concerns the studies regarding the author and his period. 2. A critical effective evaluation of Trendelenburg comparing his writing to some contemporary thinkers and his followers. 3. The person who is taking care of this project is going to spend some time in Graz while working at his research project at the Institut für Philosophie of Karl-Franzens-Universität in order to find unpublished material by authors like F.Brentano, A.Marty and A.Riehl to outline the influence that Trendelenburg had on them as he had been their teacher in Berlin and also their precursor.