Why has the word Gestalt caused problems for the movement?
Gestalt is a term in psychology meaning “unified whole”. It is used with respect to the theories of Gestalt psychologists. These theories tend to signify the concept of wholeness of perception. They attempt at explaining the organization of various sensory elements into wholes, upon observation by the mind.
It keeps up the belief that, perception tends to get destroyed, if one tries to analyze, or reduce it to the level of elements. The elements are considered to be reflective and abstract. They themselves do not amount to any significance. The immediate experience is not constituted by an assemblage of elements. It is made up by wholes of sensations, not individual masses.
This term has resulted in posing problems, for the movement, it is associated with. The primary challenge is with the lack of exactness of the term. It does not denote clearly, what the movement stands for. It has no exact English language counterpart. The terms used in its respect are configuration, form, or shape.
Köhler in his book Gestalt Psychology, talked about the dual usage of the word in German. One of the usage talks about general property of the object, while the other talks about an entity, one of whose attributes can be denoted as a specific shape, or form. Thus, this term implies its usage for both objects, and their characteristic form.
The term also can be used to refer to learning, emotional, thinking, and behavioral elements. It lacks a sense of discreetness to it. It can be used in a general sense. All of this makes the term Gestalt, a problem.