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.
Interpretation
Gestalt theory emphasizes understanding wholes rather than just their individual parts, suggesting that the whole has its own intrinsic properties.
This quote by Max Wertheimer highlights the principles of Gestalt theory, which posits that the behavior and characteristics of complex systems or wholes cannot be understood solely by analyzing their individual components. Instead, the intrinsic nature of the whole shapes the interactions and behaviors of its parts, urging a holistic perspective in understanding phenomena.
In practice
In a philosophy class discussing holistic approaches to knowledge.
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.
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.
Hell is having to execute a pointless act from which nothing ever comes except the need to do it again.
We never see other people anyway, only the monsters we make of them.
The rationale that etiquette should be eschewed because it fosters inequality does not ring true in a society that openly admits to a feverish interest in the comparative status-conveying qualities of sneakers. Manners are available to all, for free.
Serious-minded people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.
No one who has lived even for a fleeting moment for something other than life in its conventional sense and has experienced the exaltation that this feeling produces can then renounce his new freedom so easily.
A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility.
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