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Kurt Goldstein
Abstract
It is often difficult to determine which sources of influence have molded one’s own thinking, but I believe that my conception of education has been deeply affected by Kurt Goldstein’s writings on the psychophysical nature of man.
The author revisits neuropsychiatrist Kurt Goldstein’s (1934/1995, 1963) concept of self-actualization. It is argued that the interdisciplinary field of biosemiotics (Emmeche & Kull, 2011; Hoffmeyer, 2003/2009) provides contemporary language and examples to understand Goldstein’s concept, and expands the breadth of its application to include all living things (not only humans). The introduction to biosemiotics also provides an opportunity for humanistic psychology to form a meaningful collaboration with the naturalistic sciences. Self-actualization is defined through 3 important aspects. The first is that of individuation or the process of becoming a self. The second is that of holism, or the recognition that the organism and environment comprise a meaningful whole. Finally, the third is that self-actualization is the only motivating drive. With the expansion of application that a biosemiotic view provides, it is maintained that all life is governed by biosemiosis.
A short paper by Kurt Goldstein on Goethe’s Methods of Scientific Inquiry bears out Professor Ulich’s remarks and may be of interest to the reader. It was published in German under the title: “Bemerkung zum Vortrag von Prof. Otto Meyerhof: Ueber Goethe’s Methoden der Naturforschung,” in Proceed
- O Meyerhof