“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.” WholeMightHappensLawScienceCasesPiecesTheoryHappeningsStructureDeterminedCharacteristicsThesisGestalt Author:Max Wertheimer
“"Pieces" almost always appear 'as parts' in whole processes. ... To sever a "'part" from the organized whole in which it occurs-whether it itself be a subsidiary whole or an "element"-is a very real process usually involving alterations in that "part". Modifications of a part frequently involve changes elsewhere in the whole itself. Nor is the nature of these alterations arbitrary, for they too are determined by whole-conditions.” RealWholeScienceProcessNatureChangePiecesConditionsElementsDeterminedOrganizedElsewhereArbitraryInvolvingAlterationsModification Author:Max Wertheimer
“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.” WholeIndividualProcessTheoryBehaviorElementsDetermineDeterminedGestalt Author:Max Wertheimer
“Given a situation, a system with a Leerstelle [a gap], whether a given completion (Lueckenfuellung) does justice to the structure, is the "right" one, is often determined by the structure of the system, the situation. There are requirements, structurally determined; there are possible in pure cases unambiguous decisions as to which completion does justice to the situation, which does not, which violates the requirements and the situation.” DoeGivenJusticeDecisionSituationCasesPureStructureDeterminedGapsRequirementsCompletion Author:Max Wertheimer
“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.” ThinkingScienceRealizingSituationDeterminedImprovementFeaturesRequirementsProceeding Author:Max Wertheimer
