Franz Carl Müller-Lyer Explained

Franz Carl Müller-Lyer, born Francis Xavier Hermann Müller (5 February 1857 - 29 October 1916) was a German psychologist and sociologist.[1] The Müller-Lyer illusion is named after him.[2] [3] [4]

Life

Müller-Lyer was born in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden. He studied medicine at the Universities of Strasbourg, Bonn, and Leipzig. He also studied psychology and sociology at the Universities of Berlin, Vienna, Paris and London.

In 1888 he entered into private practice in Munich.

Müller-Lyer's speculations on the evolution of the role of the family in human society received prominent mention in Bertrand Russell's 1924 essay "Styles in Ethics," which argued for the relativity and impermanence of moral standards.[5]

The optical illusion he described in 1889 involves the perception of the length of a line when the ends are capped by chevrons. Diverging chevrons seem to make the line longer when compared with converging chevrons. There are numerous similar geometrical illusions known now.

Works

Notes and References

  1. http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz66913.html Müller-Lyer, Franz Carl
  2. Müller-Lyer, FC (1889), "Optische Urteilstäuschungen"; Archiv für Physiologie Suppl. 263–270.
  3. [Franz Brentano|Brentano, Franz]
  4. Müller-Lyer, FC (1894), "Über Kontrast und Konfluxion", Zeitschrift für Psychologie, IX p 1 / X p 421.
  5. Egner and Denonn, eds., The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell, Ch.40, p.345, Simon & Schuster, 1961.