The Whole is Other than the Sum of the Parts

“The whole is other than the sum of the parts”
— Kurt Koffka
This is the correct version of the sentence that is usually referred in english as “The whole is more than the sum of the parts”. Once I was pointed out to the right one by Corrado, it immediately rang true to me, even before the explanation:
“This is not a principle of addition”
Which is absolutely correct. I however understand the reason why “more” got popular in place of “other”: it’s clearer that we are getting out something on top, something beyond the basic stimulus, while “other” requires a deeper understanding of the perceptual dynamics of gestalt psychology, which for a sentence repeated in isolation, isn’t often the case.
The Whole is Other than the Sum of the Parts The Whole is Other than the Sum of the Parts Reviewed by Unknown on 4:04:00 AM Rating: 5

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