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3 Gestalt
unit are few and far between. In contrast with functionally related groups
of things, there are innumerable random groups of objects which are nothing
more than chance combinations, without purpose.
Hypothetically, every collection of objects could be separated out of its background and assigned an identity as a group, in which case everything would be
a Gestalt. If that were the case, the very notion of Gestalt would be meaningless.
This shows that a Gestalt is more than an arbitrary joining together of objects.
There must be a reason, a purpose, for bringing particular things together and
taking them to form a coherent whole. But in the mind-independent universe,
there are no such things as reasons and purposes.
We are led to conclude that it requires a living subject to mentally extract a
dynamic group of objects from a background in which it is deeply embedded,
and make it stand out as something existing in its own right. In other words,
it takes a living subject to isolate a group of things and draw it out of its
background so as to perceive it as a separately existing thing. This thing is then
a Gestalt in the eyes of the beholder.
Objects don’t come together into groups all by themselves, without reason,
but are brought together in a purposeful way which must be recognized by
someone or something as forming a collective entity: They are then a collective
entity for the one who recognizes them as such. A Gestalt requires a subject in
order to be perceived as a Gestalt.
Thus, being a Gestalt is not an objective fact of the world, but is a way of
being perceived: It is a property of perception, not a property of the external
world. A Gestalt is a compound entity when recognized as such by a subject.
The subject cannot be eliminated: Indeed, the subject is at the very heart of
what a Gestalt is.
The reason objects and events of the world appear holistic is that living
observers perceive them in Gestalts, and mentally attribute unity to them.
But outside the purview of any observer, there is nothing to join the parts
of an object together or designate its boundaries. The atoms of a teacup do
not collude together to form a teacup: The object is a teacup because it is
constituted that way from a perspective outside of itself. It is similar when you
look at a photograph. The pixels in a photograph do not conspire among
themselves to portray your grandmother: The portrait exists when the whole
image is seen from an external perspective by a Gestalt viewer. Ultimately, that
is the essence of a Gestalt: It is a whole, unified single entity when viewed in
its entirety from an outside perspective.
That is why the essential idea of what Gestalt means is hard for most of us
to fully grasp. Commonsense leads us to assume that any group of objects that
catches our eye is a Gestalt. In a way it is, because once it catches your eye, the
3 Gestalt
unit are few and far between. In contrast with functionally related groups
of things, there are innumerable random groups of objects which are nothing
more than chance combinations, without purpose.
Hypothetically, every collection of objects could be separated out of its background and assigned an identity as a group, in which case everything would be
a Gestalt. If that were the case, the very notion of Gestalt would be meaningless.
This shows that a Gestalt is more than an arbitrary joining together of objects.
There must be a reason, a purpose, for bringing particular things together and
taking them to form a coherent whole. But in the mind-independent universe,
there are no such things as reasons and purposes.
We are led to conclude that it requires a living subject to mentally extract a
dynamic group of objects from a background in which it is deeply embedded,
and make it stand out as something existing in its own right. In other words,
it takes a living subject to isolate a group of things and draw it out of its
background so as to perceive it as a separately existing thing. This thing is then
a Gestalt in the eyes of the beholder.
Objects don’t come together into groups all by themselves, without reason,
but are brought together in a purposeful way which must be recognized by
someone or something as forming a collective entity: They are then a collective
entity for the one who recognizes them as such. A Gestalt requires a subject in
order to be perceived as a Gestalt.
Thus, being a Gestalt is not an objective fact of the world, but is a way of
being perceived: It is a property of perception, not a property of the external
world. A Gestalt is a compound entity when recognized as such by a subject.
The subject cannot be eliminated: Indeed, the subject is at the very heart of
what a Gestalt is.
The reason objects and events of the world appear holistic is that living
observers perceive them in Gestalts, and mentally attribute unity to them.
But outside the purview of any observer, there is nothing to join the parts
of an object together or designate its boundaries. The atoms of a teacup do
not collude together to form a teacup: The object is a teacup because it is
constituted that way from a perspective outside of itself. It is similar when you
look at a photograph. The pixels in a photograph do not conspire among
themselves to portray your grandmother: The portrait exists when the whole
image is seen from an external perspective by a Gestalt viewer. Ultimately, that
is the essence of a Gestalt: It is a whole, unified single entity when viewed in
its entirety from an outside perspective.
That is why the essential idea of what Gestalt means is hard for most of us
to fully grasp. Commonsense leads us to assume that any group of objects that
catches our eye is a Gestalt. In a way it is, because once it catches your eye, the