# Edgar Rubin

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{{short description|Danish psychologist}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2020}}
{{Expand French|topic=bio}}thumb|upright|An example of Rubin's vase.

'''Edgar John Rubin''' (September 6, 1886 – May 3, 1951) was a [Danish](/source/Denmark) [psychologist](/source/psychologist)/[phenomenologist](/source/phenomenology_(psychology)), remembered for his work on [figure-ground](/source/figure%E2%80%93ground_(perception)) perception as seen in such [optical illusion](/source/optical_illusion)s like the [Rubin vase](/source/Rubin_vase).

Born to [Jewish](/source/Jewish) parents, Rubin was born and raised in [Copenhagen](/source/Copenhagen). Enrolling at the [University of Copenhagen](/source/University_of_Copenhagen) in 1904, he majored in psychology and finished his [magister artium](/source/Master_of_Arts) examination in philosophy in 1910.

==Gestalt psychology==
Having specialized in [figure–ground organization](/source/Figure%E2%80%93ground_(perception)), Rubin spent the following two years as a research associate for [Georg Elias Müller](/source/Georg_Elias_M%C3%BCller) in [Göttingen](/source/G%C3%B6ttingen), [Germany](/source/Germany), examining the recognition of visual figures at different angles and sizes. His theories became influential within [Gestalt psychology](/source/Gestalt_psychology), yet Rubin is typically not included among the early influentials. Nor did he consider himself a Gestalt psychologist, being "sceptical of their attempts to construct wide-ranging theories". Nevertheless, his terminology was retained and featured in [Kurt Koffka's](/source/Kurt_Koffka) ''Principles of Gestalt Psychology''.

In 1922, Rubin became Professor of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen, a position he held until his death in 1951.

==External links==
*[http://www.litteraturpriser.dk/aut/re.htm Edgar Rubin in Litteraturpriser.dk]
*[http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm?volumeID=25&editionID=209&ArticleID=1991 ''Figure and ground at 100''.] [Jörgen L. Pind](/source/J%C3%B6rgen_L._Pind) 
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=cLnqI3dvi4kC&pg=PA183 ''Principles of Gestalt Psychology (vol.7)'']. [Koffka, Kurt](/source/Kurt_Koffka). p. 183.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubin, Edgar}}
Category:1886 births
Category:1951 deaths
Category:Danish Jews
Category:Danish psychologists
Category:20th-century psychologists
Category:Jewish Danish scientists
Category:Phenomenologists
Category:University of Copenhagen alumni
Category:Scientists from Copenhagen

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Category:Jewish psychologists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edgar Rubin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Rubin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Rubin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.