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.
Truth is something so noble that if God could turn aside from it, I could keep the truth and let God go.
If smallness was fortune, then I had come across a treasure, infinitesimal and beyond value. I felt lucky. You had to decide what was estimable and precious in your life and set out to find it. The objects you valued defined you.
I planted my self in the middle of a great many Glasses full of Dew, tied fast about me, upon which the Sun so violently darted his Rays, that the Heat, which attracted them, as it does the thickest Clouds, carried me up so high, that at length I found my self above the middle Region of the Air.
Anybody who is one with what he or she does is building the new earth.
I am hopeful, though not full of hope, and the only reason I don't believe in happy endings is because I don't believe in endings.
Liberty of thought is the life of the soul.
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