astronomy

Richard Wollheim

Richard Wollheim is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Richard Wollheim rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Arthur Wollheim (5 May 1923 − 4 November 2003) was a British philosopher noted for original work on mind and emotions, especially as related to the visual arts, specifically, painting. Wollheim served as the president of the British Society of Aesthetics from 1992 onwards until his death in 2003.

Key takeaways

Richard Wollheim belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Richard Wollheim to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard Wollheim from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Richard Arthur Wollheim (5 May 1923 − 4 November 2003) was a British philosopher noted for original work on mind and emotions, especially as related to the visual arts, specifically, painting. Wollheim served as the president of the British Society of Aesthetics from 1992 onwards until his death in 2003.

Biography Richard Wollheim was the son of Eric Wollheim, a theatre impresario, and Constance (Connie) Mary Baker, an actress who used the stage name Constance Luttrell. He attended Westminster School, London, and Balliol College, Oxford (1941–2, 1945–8), interrupted by active military service in World War II for which he volunteered. He obtained two first class BA degrees, one in History in 1946, the other in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1948. The same year, he began teaching at University College London, where he became Grote Professor of Mind and Logic and Department Head from 1963 to 1982. He retired from that position to take up a professorship at Columbia University (1982–85). He then taught at the University of California at Berkeley (1985–2002). He chaired the Department at UC Berkeley, 1998–2002. Between 1989 and 1996 he split his time between Berkeley and the University of California, Davis, where he was Professor of Philosophy and the Humanities. Additionally, he held visiting positions at Harvard University, the University of Minnesota, Graduate Center, CUNY and elsewhere. He was elected as a fellow of the British Academy in 1972 and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1986. Wollheim gave several distinguished lecture series. He delivered the William James Lectures at Harvard in 1982, published as The Thread of Life (1984) and the Ernst Cassirer Lectures at Yale in 1991, upon which were based his On the Emotions (1999). He also gave the Andrew W. Mellon lectures in Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art in 1984 which, with much elaboration, became his Painting as an Art (1987). In 1962, Wollheim published an article "A paradox in the theory of democracy", in which he argued that a supporter of democracy faces a contradiction when he votes. On the one hand he wants a particular party or candidate to win, but on the other hand he wants whoever wins the most votes to win. This has become known as Wollheim's paradox. His Art and its Objects (1968) had a significant impact upon both aesthetics and the philosophy of art. In a 1965 essay, 'Minimal Art', he coined the term Minimalism. As well as for his work on the philosophy of art, Wollheim was known for his philosophical treatments of depth psychology, especially that of Sigmund Freud, to whose work he had been introduced by his father. Wollheim was an honorary affiliate of the British Psychoanalytical Society, to whom he gave an Ernest Jones lecture in 1968 and in 1991 he was given an award for his services to psychoanalysis by the International Psychoanalytical Association.

Personal life Wollheim married Anne Barbara Denise (1920–2004), daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel George Powell, of the Grenadier Guards, after her divorce from her first husband, the literary critic Philip Toynbee. They had twin sons, Bruno and Rupert. Their marriage was dissolved in 1967. Wollheim married Mary Day Lanier, stepdaughter of Dwight Macdonald, in 1969; their daughter is Emilia.

Publications For an extensive bibliography of Richard Wollheim's publications by a professional bibliographer, see Eddie Yeghiayan's UC-Irvine site. See also the 'Philweb' listing. Many of Richard Wollheim's writings are in non-academic publications. Besides books, he published many articles in journals, edited collections, book reviews, and gallery catalogues for art exhibitions. He also left writings in manuscript, letters, and recordings of his talks.

Books and monographs (selected) F. H. Bradley. Harmondsworth; Baltimore: Penguin, 1959. 2d edition, 1969. 'Socialism and Culture'. (Fabian Tract, 331.) London: Fabian Society, 1961. 'On Drawing an Object'.: (An inaugural lecture delivered at University College London 1 December 1964) London: University College, 1965. Repr. in On Art and the Mind. Art and Its Objects: an Introduction to Aesthetics. New York: Harper & Row, 1968. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1970. As Harper Torchbook, 1971. Art and its Objects: With Six Supplementary Essays. 2d edition. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980. A Family Romance. London: Jonathan Cape, 1969. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1969 (novel). Freud. (Fontana Modern Masters.) London: Collins, 1971. Paperback, 1973. American and later Cambridge University Press (1981) eds. titled Sigmund Freud. On Art and the Mind: essays and lectures. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press,1972. 'The Good Self and the Bad Self: the Moral Psychology of British Idealism and the English School of Psychoanalysis Compared' Dawes Hicks Lecture (1975)—repr. in The Mind and Its Depths, 1993. 'The Sheep and the Ceremony' The Leslie Stephen Lecture, 1979 —repr. in The Mind and Its Depths, 1993. The Thread of Life. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1984. Painting as an Art. Andrew M. Mellon Lectures in Fine Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987. The Mind and Its Depths. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993 (essays). On the Emotions. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1999. Germs: a memoir of childhood. London: Waywiser Press. 2004.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) Gary Kemp and Elisabetta Toreno (eds.) Uncollected Writings: Writing on Art, Oxford, 2025 doi:10.1093/9780191995767.001.0001 Jonathan Wolff (ed.) Uncollected Writings: Writing on Political Philosophy, Oxford, 2025 doi:10.1093/9780198927600.001.0001

Edited books Hume on Religion London: Collins, Fontana Library, 1968 The Image in Form: Selected Writings of Adrian Stokes, 1974 Freud: A Collection of Critical Essays (1974), reprinted as Philosophers on Freud: New Evaluations (1977) includes Wollheim's "Introduction" and "Imagination and Identification" Philosophical Essays on Freud, with James Hopkins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. includes Wollheim's "The bodily ego". R.B.Kitaj: A Retrospective, with Richard Morphet. London: Tate Publishing, 1994. includes Wollheim's "Kitaj: Recollections and Reflections"

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Wollheim

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Wollheim claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Richard Wollheim before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Richard Wollheim ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Richard Wollheim

In research: Richard Wollheim appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Richard Wollheim in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Richard Wollheim is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1923 births, 2003 deaths, Academics of University College London, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Wollheim outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Richard Wollheim” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Richard Wollheim in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard Wollheim means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Richard Wollheim out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Wollheim in simple terms?

Why does Richard Wollheim matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Richard Wollheim?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Richard Wollheim.