Elements of Psychophysics, Vol. I

This is not to say that the theory that will be developed here is indifferent to the way we perceive the fundamental relationship between body and mind, or that it will have no influence upon it. On the contrary. However, one should not confuse the consequences that may one day flow from this theory—and which are already beginning to take shape—with the foundation of the theory itself. This foundation is, in fact, purely empirical Empirical: Knowledge derived from observation, internal experience, or scientific experiment rather than from abstract theory or logic., and every preconceived assumption must be rejected from the outset.

One might ask: Does the possibility of such a foundation not stand in direct contradiction to the fact we started with—that the relationships between body and soul are hidden from observation? In truth, they are not hidden from observation entirely; rather, it is only the immediate relationships that are withdrawn from immediate observability Fechner is distinguishing between what we can feel directly (the "immediate") and what we can measure or infer through experiments (the "mediate").. Even our understanding of the general relationship between body and soul was based on experiences of a very general kind regarding their connection—even if this doesn't seem like a necessary conclusion to everyone who approaches this text with fixed preconceptions. What follows will show that we have no fewer "special" or specific experiences at our disposal. These can serve partly to orient us in the realm of "mediate" or indirect relationships, and partly to establish conclusions about the immediate ones.

In fact, a general perspective alone, even if it were accepted, would not be enough. The reliability, productivity, and depth of any general view does not depend on the "general" at all, but on the "elementary." The law of gravitation and molecular laws (which arguably include the former) are elementary laws; if they were thoroughly known and their full scope exhausted in their logical consequences, then the theory of the physical world would be complete in its greatest generality. Accordingly, it will be necessary to obtain elementary laws for the relationship between the physical world and the mental world original: Geisteswelt. This refers to the realm of consciousness, thoughts, and feelings. in order to gain a durable and developed doctrine instead of a mere general opinion. These laws, in this field as in any other, can only be founded upon elementary facts.

Psychophysics is a science original: Lehre. While often translated as "doctrine" or "theory," in this context Fechner is proposing a rigorous scientific discipline. that must be grounded upon these perspectives. More on this in the following chapter.