The basic thesis of gestalt theory might be formulated thus: there are contexts in which what is happening in the whole cannot be deduced from the characteristics of the separate pieces, but conversely; what happens to a part of the whole is, in clearcut cases, determined by the laws of the inner structure of its whole.
Interpretation
Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole is different from the sum of its parts.
Max Wertheimer's quote centers on the core principle of gestalt theory, which suggests that individual components cannot be fully understood in isolation, as their significance is inherently tied to the surrounding context of the whole. In particular, it posits that the behavior and characteristics of individual parts are influenced by the overarching structure or organization of the complete system they belong to, highlighting the interdependent relationship between parts and wholes in understanding complexity.
In practice
In a psychology lecture about perception and awareness.
There are wholes, the behavior of which is not determined by that of their individual elements, but where the part-processes are themselves determined by the intrinsic nature of the whole. It is the hope of Gestalt theory to determine the nature of such wholes.
Science is rooted in the will to truth. With the will to truth it stands or falls. Lower the standard even slightly and science becomes diseased at the core. Not only science, but man. The will to truth, pure and unadulterated, is among the essential conditions of his existence; if the standard is compromised he easily becomes a kind of tragic caricature of himself.
Thinking consists in envisaging, realizing structural features and structural requirements; proceeding in accordance with, and determined by, these requirements; thereby changing the situation in the direction of structural improvements.
I bow before the authority of special men because it is imposed upon me by my own reason.
If the laborer gets no more than the wages which his employer pays him, he is cheated, he cheats himself.
When people say they don't want a nanny state, they are, in fact, in a conflicted state of mind. On the one hand, they want to do whatever they want and not be stopped. On the other hand, if something goes wrong, they want to be rescued.
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, Deferential, glad to be of use, Politic, cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous— Almost, at times, the Fool.
History is a people's memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.
It is a precarious undertaking to say anything reliable about aims and intentions.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.