Background
Heymans, Gerardus was born on April 17, 1857 in Ferwcrd, The Netherlands.
Heymans, Gerardus was born on April 17, 1857 in Ferwcrd, The Netherlands.
Law, Economy and Philosophy, University of Leyden. Thesis on Economy, 1880. Second degree in Philosophy, University of Freiburg under the supervision of Windelband, 1881. lifts: Fries and Fechner.
Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Leyden, 1883-1890. Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, University of Groningen, 1890-1927. Founder of the first psychological laboratory at Groningen, 1892.
Main publications:
U881) Zur Kritik des Utilismus, Freiburg (dissertation.)
(1890) Schets eener critische geschiedenis van het causaliteitsbegrip in de nieuwere wijsbegeerte [Outline of a Critical History of the Concept of Causality in Modern Philosophy], Leyden.
(1890-1894) Gesetze und Elemente des wissenschaftlichen Denkens, Leipzig: Barth.
(1890) Het experiment in de Philosophie [The Experiment in Psychology], Leyden.
(1905) Einführung in die Metaphysik auf Grundlage der Erfahrung, Leipzig: Barth.
(1905) Einführung in die Ethik. Leipzig: Barth.
(1915) Hei psychisch Monismc [Psychical monism], Paarn: Hollandia.
•' ^27) Gesammelte kleinere Schriften zur Philosophie und Psychologie, The Hague (posthumously).
Secondary literature:
Cerritsen, T. C. J. (1938) La Philosophie de Heymans, Paris.
Heymans founded his philosophy upon experie,1ce. His starting-point is formed by the data in consciousness, but he went beyond empiricism in uilding a scientific philosophy up on these data, he principle of causality is self-evident, therefore °ur inner psychical world must be caused by an extcnial world, also of psychical character. The Psychical world alone is real and gives the c'xplanation of the so called material world.
All Processes of the brain are processes of consciousnessTherefore he calls his philosophy ‘psychom°nism’, stressing the ultimate reality of mind consciousness and opposing each kind of uahsrn. He could build a metaphysics on empirical foundations, although metaphysics itself is no more than a hypothetical theory. His fundamental work in the field of psychological phenomena is a consequence of this standpoint.
Hcymann’s ethical theory is based on the principle of objectivity: the norm for each act can be found if one puts oneself in an objective standpoint, leaving aside all personal and subjective desires and emotions.