Editing Hermann Ebbinghaus (section)

==Influences==
There has been some speculation as to what influenced Ebbinghaus in his undertakings. None of his professors seem to have influenced him, nor are there suggestions that his colleagues affected him. Von Hartmann's work, on which Ebbinghaus based his doctorate, did suggest that higher mental processes were hidden from view, which may have spurred Ebbinghaus to attempt to prove otherwise. The one influence that has always been cited as having inspired Ebbinghaus was [[Gustav Fechner]]'s two-volume ''Elemente der Psychophysik.'' ("Elements of Psychophysics", 1860), a book which he purchased second-hand in England. It is said that the meticulous mathematical procedures impressed Ebbinghaus so much that he wanted to do for [[psychology]] what Fechner had done for [[psychophysics]]. This inspiration is also evident in that Ebbinghaus dedicated his second work ''Principles of Psychology'' to Fechner, signing it "I owe everything to you."<ref name="Thorne" />{{rp|206}}