Carl Stumpf (1848–1936) was a central figure of German-speaking philosophy and psychology at the turn of the twentieth century. He is a pioneer of Gestalt psychology and the philosophy and psychology of music. Stumpf was a pupil of Franz Brentano and Hermann Lotze, and he himself influenced his student Edmund Husserl, as well as psychologists such as Wolfgang Köhler and Max Wertheimer, who were Stumpf’s students as well.

Stumpf’s work is original and contains groundbreaking contributions to a range of topics. He defended nativism about space by arguing that perception has multiple contents. This thought plays also an important role in his analysis of the perception of sound (especially the perception of chords) and it set Gestaltpsychology on its course. His theory of feelings contrasts fruitfully with that of James and Brentano. He worked out a defense of critical realism, a trope ontology, a non-psychologistic epistemology, a detailed analysis of sensory contents, an account of the objectivity of concepts and propositions without abstract objects, and he explored many other specific topics, such as the origins of music. In addition, he devoted much time to reflecting on the subject-matter of the different sciences and on how they should be classified. In parallel to his theoretical investigations, he also made experimentations in psychology and musicology. He corresponded with Gottlob Frege, William James, and Hermann Lotze, among others.

Given the originality of Stumpf’s work, it is surprising that it is neglected in the literature. There is very little engagement with Stumpf systematically and/or historically. This workshop aims to change this situation. Its goal is to unlock the potential of Stumpf’s thought and to introduce his work to a broader philosophical audience. It will gather not only specialists of Stumpf himself, but also of the authors with whom he debated, in order to better understand the intellectual context in which he was evolving. The workshop will symbolically take place at HU Berlin, where Stumpf was a professor for several years and even the chancellor of the university.