Egon Brunswick (Brunswik)

Born:	03-18-1903
Faculty:	Philosophical School
Category:	Expelled teacher

BRUNSWICK (BRUNSWIK) (born on March 18^th, 1903 in Budapest, died on July 7^th, 1955 in Berkeley/USA) was lecturer ('Assistent') for Psychology at the Philosophical School of the University of Vienna. He was persecuted in times of Nazism because of his political orientation, lost his position and was thrown out of the University of Vienna in 1938. Brunswick attended the Theresian Academy and from 1921 to 1923 studied engineering at the Technical University of Vienna (first State examination for engineers in 1923), only to subsequently switch to the study of psychology at the University of Vienna. In 1926 he took the state examination, which allowed him to teach mathematics and physics at secondary schools. After working at a school for a year, he obtained his doctorate degree ('Dr. phil.') at the Philosophical School of the University of Vienna in 1927 (academic supervisor: Karl Buehler). Following this, he worked as an assistant of Karl Buehler at the psychological institute, while also teaching at the pedagogical institute and the adult education center in Vienna. In 1931/32 he held a visiting professorship at the University of Ankara, where he founded the first psychological laboratory. Two years after his return, he habilitated at the University of Vienna and was promoted 'Privatdozent' in 1934. In 1935/36 he was a Rockefeller fellow, visiting lecturer and research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1936 he permanently emigrated to the United States, and advanced to the position of assistant professor one year later. ^[1] During this time he had a leave of absence from his function as assistant at the University of Vienna. ^[2] He married Else Frenkel, a psychoanalytically oriented psychologist, who was also a former assistant in Buehler's institute and became an American citizen later. After the “Anschluss”, as of April 22nd, 1938, his teaching license was “suspended until further notice”.^[3] A possible reason for this might have been his close relationship with the Wiener Kreis,^[4] as well as possibly his relatively early joining of the “Vaterlaendische Front” (Fatherland’s Front) - even before the mandatory membership - in December 1933.^[5] Brunswick stayed in the United States and was able to teach as an associate professor from 1939 on. Even after the end of the war, a return to Austria or the University of Vienna did not come about, while he advanced to the position of professor in Berkeley in 1947. Brunswick was substantially involved in the development of the theory of probabilistic functionalism, with which he had a significant impact on psychology.^[6]

Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna/PHIL PA 1142, PHIL GZ 659 ex 1937/38; MÜHLBERGER 1993, 38; GEUTER 1986, 257; ROEDER Vol. 2 1983; Leonard ZUSNE, Names in the history of psychology. A biographical sourcebook, New York 1975; The Brunswik Society