Thank you Magdelena I think that Gestalt is still widely taught and understood in perception. I am not sure however that I agree with you that Arnheim told only the truth. Some of what he says seems to have been surpassed by neuroscience. What do you think?

Paul: I have had the same question in my head for the last few months. I recently added two of Arnheim's books to my library (having read them nearly forty years ago as an undergrad art student) together with a selection of recent texts on neuroscience. I am afraid I have about a year of reading and teaching to do before I can attempt an answer to your question. Meanwhile I shall read any answers that appear here with great interest.

Magdalena and David, thank you both for your answers. I am sorry to say that I do not have the answers you asked for off the top of my head! I learnt about the psychology of perception many years ago which included Gestalt. I studied Arnheim about 10 years ago and I also studied neuroscience just a few years ago and I was struck by the many ways that Gestalt psychology compliments neuroscience (I have written about this in my latest book). I was also struck by how, to the best of my recalling, Arnheim seemed to be making categorical claims about perception that were not supported by neuroscience. I am terribly sorry but I can't remember any precise details, that is one of the reasons I asked this question. I will have to do some reading to be able to answer you. I am like you David, I have an enormous, and never decreasing, pile ofd books to read.

Paul: Some participants in another thread have touched on how Arnheim's work is seen today, and I see you are not among its followers. I think you would enjoy reading through the answers.

https://www.researchgate.net/post/In_what_way_exactly_was_David_Marrs_approach_different_from_that_of_James_Gibson_in_the_field_of_Vision_and_Perception

Thank you David.

Dear Paul:

The following comment refers not only to Arnheim's work, but to the contemporary relevance of Gestalt vision research in general.

I am presently reading the 2006 English tranlation of Wolfgang Metzger's book Laws of seeing (originally published in 1936), and I find that most of it holds up very well, in general, in the light of recent vision research. The "Introduction to the English translation," by Lothar Spillman, provides context and explains why the book is relevant today. See:

Metzger, Wolfgang. Laws of seeing, Lothar Spillmann, Steven Lehar, Mimsey Stromeyer & Michael Wertheimer, translators, Cambridge/London, The MIT Press, 2009.

Here is a review:

Reeves, Adam (2007). "Metzger's challenge," Advances in Cognitive Psychology (Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Finance and Management in Warsaw), vol. 3, nos. 1-2, p. 361 (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adam_Reeves/publication/47244181_Metzger's_Challenge/links/02e7e538f2f5b39fb9000000.pdf, access: 28 June 2015).

Today I downloaded several relatively recent articles that incorporate Gestalt vision research. The last one on this list (Wagemans, et al.) is especially interesting, and Arnheim is mentioned a couple of times.

Ehrenstein, Walter H.; Spillmann, Lothar; Sarris, Viktor (2003). “Gestalt issues in modern neuroscience”, Axiomathes (Kluwer Academic Publishers), vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 433-458 (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240915060_Gestalt_Issues_in_Modern_Neuroscience, access: 28 Junio 2015).

Gestalt ReVision (undated). GestaltReVision, perceptual organizarion in the context of a dynamical and hierarchical visual brain (http://www.Gestaltrevision.be/en/, access: 28 June 2015).

Lehar, Steven M. (2009). “Gestalt isomorphism and the quantification of spatial perception,” Gestalt Theory (Official Journal of the Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications), vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 122-139 (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228819544_Gestalt_isomorphism_and_the_quantification_of_spatial_perception, access: 28 June 2015).

Murray, Micah M.; Herrmann, Cristoph S. (2013). “Illusory contours: a window onto the neurophysiology of constructing perception,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences (Elsevier), vol. 17, no. 9, September 2013, pp. 471-481 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13646613/17/9, access: 28 June 2015).

Wagemans, Johan; Elder, James H.; Kubovy, Michael; Palmer, Stephen E.; Peterson, Mary A.; Singh, Manish; Heydt, Rüdiger von der (2012). “A century of Gestalt psychology in visual perception: I. Perceptual grouping and figure-ground organization,” Psychological Bulletin (American Psychological Association), vol. 138, no. 6, pp. 1172-1217 (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230587594_A_Century_of_Gestalt_Psychology_in_Visual_Perception_I._Perceptual_Grouping_and_Figure-Ground_Organization, access: 28 June 2015).

Article Metzger's Challenge

Article Gestalt isomorphism and the quantification of spatial perception

Article A Century of Gestalt Psychology in Visual Perception: I. Per...

Article Gestalt Issues in Modern Neuroscience