Gestalt

undefined:

Gestalt ([ɡəˈʃtalt]) is a theory of perception that emerged in Psychology in the early twentieth century. It is also known as configurationism (a theory of configurational properties).

This theory suggests that perception is not only dependent on components but on an organized whole, with individual elements being perceived as one single object or otherwise in relation to each other. This effect may be observed in optical illusions in particular, or in art that utilises negative space.

Meaning: "when a group is established, it becomes a unified system with supervening qualities that cannot be understood by evaluating members individually", encouraging people to look at social dynamics in a holistic point of view.

This theory has been summarized by social psychologist Kurt Lewin using the dictum: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" (so the elements of an object or image that were put together are not reducible to the sum of those elements either). While this quote is often attributed to Aristoteles, Wolfgang Metzger argues that it is a misquote. Instead, he proposes that the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts, but something else entirely, with newly added components taking on characteristics of the whole.

Gestaltism and Identity
Since gestaltism is primarily related to perception and mental concepts, personal identity is a subject as well. The thought experiment "Ship of Theseus" examines how and if identity changes or remains invariant over time and with changes to components. A similar thought experiment exists about identity preservation through the renewal of cells in the human body.

In psychology, gestalt theory regards individuals as open systems that interact with and are influenced by their surroundings. This alone serves to make social groups take on a Gestalt that includes relationships, social norms, expectations, etc.

In context of plurality, a plural system may be seen as a group of headmates, with the system being perceived as not just the sum of those members but their connections and interactions. Internally, this may include system functions, headspace, internal dynamics, etc. Externally, it includes things such as the body and shared lived experiences. The Gestalt of a system may be more extensive in close-knit clusters or sisasystems and may not extend much further when considering several strongly separated layers. The more headmates interact with each other and share experiences, the wider their collective Gestalt.

Hence, a system may be viewed as a "dynamic whole", with every change to a single part of the system, the holistic perception of the whole inevitably changes as well.

This may be a minor change that does not affect anyone much (e.g, a system member acquired a new skill or role that does not directly impact others), but it can also provide a completely different perspective on life and modify severely the routines of the collective (e.g, drastic changes in member count or transferral and reassignment of roles may severely impact internal dynamics and external day-to-day life).

Depending on the degree of the change, any shift in the "dynamic whole" can potentially cause a chain-reaction effect:


 * the system's position regarding other systems may have to be re-evaluated,
 * the system's way of functioning, routines, and possibly structure will be somewhat impacted,
 * the system members may need to redefine some of their roles,
 * the headspace may need to be re-organized,

The changing system may face new problematics and obstacles they did not encounter before. Thus, the system may need to adjust to its new dynamics by adding more changes (voluntarily or not), thus creating again new dynamics. This iterative process can go on indefinitely, or until reaching a state of stabilisation.

History
The German word Gestalt used in Psychology can be translated as "form" and "shape", or even "pattern" or "configuration", referring to the way things are put together to form a whole object.

The synergy of a Gestalt is not the same as the idea that system members are "part of one personality", which is regarded as a reductive view on plurality in many spaces. Instead the concept of Gestalt described may be found between members of any social groups in shared reality and does not contradict individuality or some level of independence of individuals.

Related Terms
Systems whose functions are strongly affected by their Gestalt or reflect it may have a systemsona or concord, a core, or daimonian members and headspaces. Their functions or structure may be symbolic or change in a symbolic manner, such as with daimonmotum layers, and may be represented through members such as allegoricans.

Plurals who don't relate to Gestaltism may view themselves as more separate entities, or may not use the system label. Simultaneously, some plurals may use the term part for their members to refer to parts / participants in the system / Gestalt without reductive connotation.