Note on Eugenio Rignano as a forerunner of the “new look” theory of visual perception

This note examines the theoretical study of perception presented by Eugenio Rignano, the Italian philosopher and editor of Scientia. Rignano's theory, which is structured around the concept of “affective tendency,” is seen as a forerunner to the “New Look” theory of perception presented by Gardner Murphy. It is concluded that the case of Rignano and Murphy is another example strengthening Henle's thesis that the study of the history of psychology can help to avoid the conceptual errors of a previously stated theory.