Guðmundur Finnbogason (June 6, 1873 – July 17, 1944)Pind (2005), pp. 9, 30 was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, the son of Guðrún Jónsdóttir and Finnbogi Finnbogason.Pind (2005), p. 9 He was one of the first Icelandic

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

s. His work "Sympathetic Understanding" inspired Jean Piaget's development stages model.

Career

Guðmundur finished his studies at Lærði Skólinn in the spring of 1896. The same year, he began studying

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

; he graduated with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in psychology in 1901.Pind (2005), p. 10 Among his mentors were

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and Alfred Lehmann.Pind (2005), pp. 12, 13 og 15 Lehmann had studied under

Wilhelm Wundt Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, known today as one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and established a laboratory in Copenhagen in 1886. During 1901 and 1902 Guðmundur traveled in Scandinavia and gathered information on teaching in these countries. The Icelandic national parliament, the

Alþingi The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

, supported him. Based on this research, his first book, ''Lýðmenntun'' (People's education), was published in 1903. In it and a report to the parliament the same year, Guðmundur put forward his proposals for the education of children in Iceland.Pind (2005), pp. 19, 20, 21 During 1903 and 1904, he traveled in Iceland to gather information on teaching in the country and then wrote another report to parliament. In 1907, a policy for teaching was agreed upon, largely based on Guðmundur's reports.Pind (2005), pp. 22, 23 In 1905 and 1906, Guðmundur was the editor of ''

Skírnir In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one"Orchard (1997:149).) is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a messenger to Jötunheimr to conduct lovesick Freyr's wooing o ...

'' and also did some translation. Among others, he translated

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

' lecture about human immortality and an article by

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

.Pind (2005), pp. 23, 24 He again served as editor of ''Skírnir'' from 1913 to 1920 and from 1933 to 1943.Pind (2005), p. 27 In 1908 to 1910 Guðmundur worked on his PhD thesis for the University of Copenhagen, titled ''Samúðarskilningurinn'' (Sympathetic understanding).Pind (2005), pp. 24, 25 His

thesis defence A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

took place in 1911, and his book on the same topic, ''Hugur og heimur'' (Mind and the universe), was published in 1912. During the same period as Guðmundur was completing and defending his thesis, the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

was founded and a professorship in philosophy was founded at the school. Guðmundur applied for the position, but Ágúst H. Bjarnason was appointed instead. Guðmundur became head of the Icelandic National Library.Pind (2005), p. 28 In 1918 he was appointed professor at the University, and served in that position until 1924, teaching applied psychology and performing experiments with students.

References

* Jörgen L. Pind. 2005. "Guðmundur Finnbogason, sálfræðingur, ritstjóri Skírnis". ''Skírnir'', 179. Spring 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Finnbogason, Gudmundur 1873 births 1944 deaths Gudmundur Finnbogason Gudmundur Finnbogason