Thoughts on Gestalt

If one is skeptical about the concept of a whole that is more than the sum of its parts, perhaps they should stop thinking of the pieces as Lego blocks. Sometimes, the parts rely on more than just their structural components to make a secure fit. An adhesive is sometimes necessary in order to connect the parts together. Also, materials like nails and screws are often used to fasten pieces together. While some may argue that a screw is a part of the structure, the screw does not have any functional purpose other than to support the structure by connecting its parts together. When it comes to our experience of reality, it is the relationship between parts that acts as the glue. Certainly, there are always relationships between the parts of a complex system. These relationships can only be understood intuitively, working outside of any one part of the whole. The relationship is therefore not made of any parts, but is rather a separate substance that solely acts to connect the parts. Although the parts look like they may fit snugly together on their own, there is indeed a separation between them due to the DEPTH of the glue holding them together. Therefore a complex system or idea must be more than the sum of its parts, since the relationship that holds the parts together, the glue, must be contributing to the overall ‘mass’ to the system.