Rediscovering Carl Stumpf

Call for Papers:
Rediscovering Carl Stumpf

The Monist invites submissions for an upcoming thematic issue of the journal on the philosophy of Carl Stumpf.

Advisory editors: Hamid Taieb (Humboldt University of Berlin) & Mark Textor (King’s College London)
 
Publication date: April 2027

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 special issue of The Monist 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 welcomes submissions from experts on Stumpf’s philosophy and from experts on philosophers that influenced or were influenced by Stumpf as well as from philosophers that engage with important themes in Stumpf from a contemporary perspective.

Submission Information
All submissions should be prepared for anonymous review and sent to the advisory editors: hamid.taieb@hu-berlin.de and mark.textor@kcl.ac.uk
Manuscripts received from the call will first go through a pre-selection by the advisory editors. The manuscripts passing it will be sent for full double-blind review process.
Word limit: 7’000 words, including notes and references. Please follow the journal’s Author Guidelines.
Deadline for Submissions: 30 October 2025