---
title: "1 Gestalt Quotes By Michael Polanyi"
description: "1 Gestalt quotes by Michael Polanyi. Plus more from Michael Polanyi and more Gestalt sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/michael-polanyi-17316_psychology_it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-t_716808.jpg"
---

> [“It was the merit of Gestalt psychology to make us aware of the remarkable performance involved in perceiving shapes. Take, for example, a ball or an egg: we can see their shapes at a glance. Yet suppose that instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-to-make-us-aware-of-the/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/michael-polanyi-17316_psychology_it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-t_716808.jpg)

## More by Michael Polanyi

> [These maxims and the art of interpreting them may be said to constitute the premisses of science but I prefer to call them our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/these-maxims-and-the-art-of-interpreting-them-may-be-said-to/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [We could not, for example, arrive at a principle like that of entropy without introducing some additional principle, such as randomness, to this topography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/we-could-not-for-example-arrive-at-a-principle-like-that-of-entropy/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [“A steady recognition that the evils which prevent the fullness of moral development are precisely the elements which are also the source of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/a-steady-recognition-that-the-evils-which-prevent-the-fullness-of/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [“Christianity sedulously fosters, and in a sense permanently satisfies, man's craving for mental dissatisfaction by offering him the comfort of a crucified God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/christianity-sedulously-fosters-and-in-a-sense-permanently-satisfies/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [Of course language manifests a belief only if we use its words with the implied acceptance of their appositeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/of-course-language-manifests-a-belief-only-if-we-use-its-words-with/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [The first thing to make clear is that scientists, freely making their own choice of problems and pursuing them in the light of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/the-first-thing-to-make-clear-is-that-scientists-freely-making-their/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [The information in DNA could no more be reduced to the chemical than could the ideas in a book be reduced to the ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/the-information-in-dna-could-no-more-be-reduced-to-the-chemical-than/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [“Sartre puts it, value arises simply from our choices. What we choose, we value simply because we have chosen it (and apparently we remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/sartre-puts-it-value-arises-simply-from-our-choices-what-we-choose-we/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [I shall reconsider human knowledge by starting from the fact that we can know more than we can tell,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/i-shall-reconsider-human-knowledge-by-starting-from-the-fact-that-we/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [The amount of knowledge which we can justify from evidence directly available to us can never be large. The overwhelming proportion of our factual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/the-amount-of-knowledge-which-we-can-justify-from-evidence-directly/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [Admittedly, the body of scientists, as a whole, does uphold the authority of science over the lay public. It controls thereby also the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/admittedly-the-body-of-scientists-as-a-whole-does-uphold-the/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [“It was the merit of Gestalt psychology to make us aware of the remarkable performance involved in perceiving shapes. Take, for example, a ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-to-make-us-aware-of-the/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [We know more than we can tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/we-know-more-than-we-can-tell/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [We cannot ultimately specify the grounds (either metaphysical or logical or empirical) upon which we hold that our knowledge is true. Being committed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/we-cannot-ultimately-specify-the-grounds-either-metaphysical-or/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [The process of philosophic and scientific enlightenment has shaken the stability of beliefs held explicitly as articles of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/the-process-of-philosophic-and-scientific-enlightenment-has-shaken/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/michael-polanyi/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Gestalt Quotes By Michael Polanyi",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“It was the merit of Gestalt psychology to make us aware of the remarkable performance involved in perceiving shapes. Take, for example, a ball or an egg: we can see their shapes at a glance. Yet suppose that instead of the impression made on our eye by an aggregate of white points forming the surface of an egg, we were presented with another, logically equivalent, presentation of these points as given by a list of their spatial co-ordinate values. It would take years of labour to discover the shape inherent in this aggregate of figures - provided it could be guessed at all. The perception of the egg from the list of co-ordinate values would, in fact, be a feat rather similar in nature and measure of intellectual achievement to the discovery of the Copernican system.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Polanyi"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-to-make-us-aware-of-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/michael-polanyi-17316_psychology_it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-t_716808.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/michael-polanyi-17316_psychology_it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-t_716808.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/michael-polanyi-17316_psychology_it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-t_716808.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It was the merit of Gestalt psychology to make us aware of the remarkable performance involved in perceiving…” — Michael Polanyi",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/michael-polanyi/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/michael-polanyi/",
            "name": "Gestalt Quotes by Michael Polanyi",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/michael-polanyi/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/michael-polanyi-17316_psychology_it-was-the-merit-of-gestalt-psychology-t_716808.jpg"
            },
            "description": "1 Gestalt quotes by Michael Polanyi. Plus more from Michael Polanyi and more Gestalt sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/michael-polanyi/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/michael-polanyi/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Gestalt",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Michael Polanyi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestalt/michael-polanyi/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
