Gestalt Informs Us We Are Not One Part; We Are A Whole
What happens when we place too much emphasis on one part of our identity? Do the other parts suffer?
“the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. — Aristotle, Philosopher, Ancient Greece
Aristotle wrote these famous words sometime before 322 BC; however, the observation became adopted to explain human perception by the Gestalt Psychology school of thought in the Twentieth Century. Verywellmind.com leverages the modern definition and describes the process as a:
form or shape of something and suggests that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There is an emphasis on perception in this particular theory of counseling. Gestalt therapy gives attention to how we place meaning and make sense of our world and our experiences.
The term Gestalt holds relevance in my life, not only as a psychotherapy practitioner but also in how I relate to people. We are all complex individuals with many parts; student, lover, father, aunt, writer, dreamer, seeker, magic pancake…
