Max Wertheimer

Few texts in psychology have remained significant even after a period of three-quarters of a century - Max Wertheimer's work "Productive Thinking" is one such exception. This book, which also serves as a manifesto in the sense of Gestalt psychology, highlights the 'productive' (insightful) versus automatic (unreflective) thinking processes across many areas of life. In addition to school-related examples, the chapter on the development of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity remains of lasting interest to today's generation of psychologists, educators, brain researchers, neuroinformaticians, and philosophers. Wertheimer had the unique opportunity to analyze Einstein's thinking through direct conversation. An introductory commentary by Viktor Sarris for this new edition of the German translation of the American original provides a detailed account of the history and reception of Wertheimer's work.