What does this mean"the whole is more than the sum of all it's parts"?

Answer 1

This quote is the core theory of the Gestalt Psychology. You might find more information on this School of thought from the following site: http://homepages.ius.edu/rallman/gestalt.html).

This approach to psychology developed in Germany in the first quarter of the twentieth century that emphasizes that mental events and experience can not be completely analyzed into a series of elements; the whole is more than the sum of the parts. This led to an interest in the way mental events interacted. Goldstein developed a form of gestalt psychology, which he called organismic psychology, which saw the behaviour of an organism as a concerted effort towards particular ends, and saw the importance of maintaining equilibrium. This was reflected in his view of the (damaged or undamaged) brain acting as a whole interacting unit.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

What it means is along the lines of looking at a forest for the trees.

If you see a crowd at a sporting event, say 50,000 people. Sure, there are 50K random individuals there, watching a few guys play some game, but they are so much more. They are united in what they're watching. They are a group that can elevate the level of play from the athletes, they can add to the environment of the stadium. While they all have their own stories and their own histories, together, they're GREATER than just a gaggle of 50K people.

Anything, a team, friendships, where you have more than one person acting together, you have something more. You and your best friend aren't two people who like each other, you're a friendship that goes past two random strangers sharing space.

Answer 3

It means that if you put let's say, two things together, they make up something more than they would individually. Let's take two people. Alone, there's a man and a woman, but together they're a couple. This is why it's also said that one plus one equals three. Because a third entity was created out of the first two.

Answer 4

What would you rather have, a delicious cooked pasta or just its ingredients?