Kurt Goldstein 

(November 6, 1878 – September 19, 1965) was a German

neurologist and psychiatrist who created a holistic theory of the organism.
Educated in medicine, Goldstein studied under Carl Wernicke and Ludwig
Edinger where he focused on neurology and psychiatry.[1] His clinical work
helped inspire the establishment of The Institute for Research into the
Consequences of Brain Injuries. Goldstein was forced to leave Germany
when Hitler came to power because of his Jewish heritage.[2] After being
displaced, Goldstein wrote The Organism (1934). This focused on patients
with psychological disorders, particularly cases of schizophrenia and war
trauma, and the ability of their bodies to readjust to substantial losses in
central control.[3] His holistic approach to the human organism produced the
principle of self actualization, defined as the driving force that maximizes and
determines the path of an individual. Later, his principle influenced Abraham
Maslow's hierarchy of needs. He was the co-editor of Journal of Humanistic
Psychology

Self-actualization was coined by the organismic theorist Kurt Goldstein for the

motive to realize one's full potential: "the tendency to actualize itself as fully
as possible is the basic drive ... the drive of self-actualization.

'Kurt Goldstein first introduced the concept of the organism as a whole,' which

is built on the assumption that "every individual, every plant, every animal has
only one inborn goal – to actualize itself as it is.

Kurt Goldstein's book, The Organism: A Holistic Approach to Biology Derived

from Pathological Data in Man (1939), presented self-actualization as "the
tendency to actualize, as much as possible, [the organism's] individual
capacities" in the world.
The tendency toward self-actualization is "the only drive by which the life of
an organism is determined."[24] However, for Goldstein self-actualization
cannot be understood as a kind of goal to be reached sometime in the future.
At any moment, the organism has the fundamental tendency to actualize all
its capacities and its whole potential, as it is present in that exact moment,
under the given circumstances.

Goldstein sets this notion of self-actualization in contrast to "self-

preservation" (Selbsterhaltung). "Self-actualization" for Goldstein means
something that comes close to realization of one's "essence", one's identity,
one's felt sense of oneself; which may in consequence mean that a person is
willing to risk his or her life in order to maintain "self-actualization"
(Selbsverwirklichung), the realization of his or her "essence" of the person he
or she feels that she/he IS.

Goldstein was born into an agnostic Jewish family the seventh of nine
children. He lived in Upper Silesia in an eastern part of the German empire
with his family. Goldstein's father was a successful owner of a lumberyard.
Although not formally educated, Goldstein's father held scholarship in high
regard. He felt that a good education was the most proper way to prepare for
life, and because of this, ensured that all his sons obtained university
degrees.[5]
As a child, Goldstein was described as being shy, quiet, and bookish amidst
his bustling surroundings. His love of reading earned him the nickname of
"Professor" at the public school he attended in Kattowitz. The Goldstein
family relocated to the metropolitan city of Breslau after a few years, where
Goldstein attended the Humanistische Gymnasium. After graduation,
Goldstein planned to study philosophy at the university level. His father did
not approve of this venture, as he considered it an unprofitable art, and sent
Goldstein to work at a relative's business.

After a short period working at that business, Goldstein's father reluctantly

allowed him to enroll at Breslau University. Goldstein stayed there for only
one semester before he transferred to the University of Heidelberg where he
was able to pursue the study of Neo-Kantian philosophy and literature where
he was introduced to the concepts of Carl Wernicke.. One year later,
Goldstein made his way back to Breslau where he studied medicine, much to
his father's satisfaction. Under the instruction of Carl Wernicke, Goldstein
focused his study on neurology and psychiatry. Goldstein obtained his
medical degree at the age of 25
After a short period working at that business, Goldstein's father reluctantly
allowed him to enroll at Breslau University. Goldstein stayed there for only
one semester before he transferred to the University of Heidelberg where he
was able to pursue the study of Neo-Kantian philosophy and literature where
he was introduced to the concepts of Carl Wernicke.. One year later,
Goldstein made his way back to Breslau where he studied medicine, much to
his father's satisfaction. Under the instruction of Carl Wernicke, Goldstein
focused his study on neurology and psychiatry. Goldstein obtained his
medical degree at the age of 25.[1]
In 1903, Ludwig Edinger invited Goldstein to the Senckebergisches
Neurologisches Institut at the University of Frankfurt where he became
Edinger's assistant (Oct 1903 - Sept 1904).[6] Edinger became one of the
most influential figures in Goldstein's career. After a stint in Königsberg,
Goldstein returned to work with Edinger in 1914 at the Neurological Institute
in Frankfurt as first assistant. Their goal was to investigate
comparative neuroanatomy and neuropathology. After Edinger's death in
1918, Goldstein became acting director of the Neurological Institute. From
1917-1927, Goldstein yielded conceptual aspects of neurological conditions
including tonus disturbances, agnosia, aphasia, apraxia, and general
behavioral changes after a brain injury[7]. In July 1922, he was appointed
associate professor for Neurology and director of the Neurological Institute.
[8] In 1923, he assumed the role of professor of neurology.[9]
In 1926, Fritz Perls became Goldstein's assistant for a year. Perls
married Laura Posner in 1930. They would go on to become the co-
developers of Gestalt therapy. Goldstein's research and theory had a
considerable influence on the formation of this new psychotherapy.[10] Later
that year, Goldstein accepted a position at the University of Berlin[5]and the
director of neurology at Berlin-Moabit General Hospital. The hospital was
established for Goldstein’s patients to study their neurological conditions.[9]
In 1927, Goldstein was instrumental in organizing the International Society for
Psychotherapy.[NAS1]  He published material on the roles of the nurse,
physician and social worker for in care of brain-injured patients. In 1938, he
was to read the William James Lectures on Philosophy and Psychology at
Harvard and were later published. He was clinical professor of neurology at
Tufts Medical School. He was active on the staff of the Boston Dispensary’s
clinic for nervous diseases.[7]

Between 1906 and 1914, Goldstein worked in a psychiatric clinic in

Königsberg. Here he realized that the patients were not receiving adequate
treatment.[4] During World War I, Goldstein took advantage of the large
number of traumatic brain injuries at the clinic, and established The Institute
for Research into the Consequences of Brain Injuries in close cooperation
with Adhémar Gelb [de], a gestalt psychologist. The collaboration between
the two resulted in 16 papers, the most notable of which reported on a case
of visual agnosia.[11] Goldstein served as the director of the clinic until 1930.
It was there that he also developed his theory of brain-mind relationships. He
applied the figure-ground principle from perception to the whole organism. In
this application, the whole organism existed as the ground for the individual
stimulus that formed the figure. This idea became an early criticism of the
simple behavioral stimulus-response-theory.[9]