Vygotsky’s idea of Gestalt and its origins

Abstract

The origins of Vygotsky’s conception of Gestalt in Goethe, Hegel, and Marx is traced, demonstrating how this concept not only forms a methodological foundation for Vygotsky, but also is the key concept through which this series of thinkers has overcome various forms of dualism. Vygotsky’s use of the concept in his unfinished work on child development is reviewed and it is shown how this conception of Gestalt sheds new light on the concept of the zone of proximal development.