The
Flammarion woodcut. Flammarion's caption translates to "''A medieval missionary tells that he has found the point where heaven and Earth meet...''"
'Holism' (from '' ''holos'', a
Greek word meaning ''all'', ''entire'', ''total'') is the idea that all the properties of a given
system (biological, chemical, social, economic, mental,
linguistic, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.
The general principle of holism was concisely summarized by
Aristotle in the ''
Metaphysics'': "The whole is more than the sum of its parts."
Reductionism is sometimes seen as the opposite of holism. Reductionism in science says that a complex system can be explained by ''reduction'' to its fundamental parts. Essentially, chemistry is reducible to physics, biology is reducible to chemistry and physics, psychology and sociology are reducible to biology, etc. Some other proponents of reductionism, however, think that holism is the opposite only of
greedy reductionism.
On the other hand, holism and reductionism can also be regarded as complementary viewpoints, in which case they both would be needed to get a proper account of a given system.
History
The ''term'' holism was introduced by the
South African statesman
Jan Smuts in his 1926 book, ''Holism and Evolution''.
[1] Smuts defined holism as:
★ ''"The tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution"''
[cf. Henri Bergson.]
The idea has ancient roots. Examples of holism can be found throughout human history and in the most diverse socio-cultural contexts, as has been confirmed by many
ethnological studies. The French Protestant missionary,
Maurice Leenhardt coined the term ''
cosmomorphism'' to indicate the state of perfect
symbiosis with the surrounding environment which characterized the culture of the
Melanesians of
New Caledonia. For these people, an isolated individual is totally indeterminate, indistinct and featureless until he can find his position within the natural and social world in which he is inserted. The confines between the self and the world are annulled to the point that the material body itself is no guarantee of the sort of recognition of identity which is typical of our own culture.
Holism in science
Main articles: Holism in science
In the latter half of the 20th century, holism led to
systems thinking and its derivatives, like the sciences of
chaos and
complexity. Systems in biology, psychology, or sociology are frequently so complex that their behavior appears "new" or "
emergent". It cannot be deduced from the properties of the elements alone.
[2]
But scientists who find themselves unable to explain the behavior of their systems from the properties of elements may incorrectly cite holism even if the system in question happens to behave in accord with a conceivable (but unseen) statistical explanation. Holism has thus been used as a catchword. This contributed to the resistance encountered by the scientific interpretation of holism, which insists that there are
ontological reasons that prevent reductive models in principle from providing efficient algorithms for prediction of system behavior in certain classes of systems.
Further resistance to holism has come from the long association of the concept with
quackery and
quantum mysticism. Scientists, who are not immune to peer pressure, were as a rule discouraged from doing any work which may perpetuate such deception. Recently, however, public understanding has grown over the realities of such concepts, and more scientists are beginning to accept serious research into the concept.
Scientific holism holds that the behavior of a system cannot be perfectly predicted, no matter how much data is available. Natural systems can produce surprisingly unexpected behavior, and it is suspected that behavior of such systems might be
computationally irreducible, which means it would not be possible to even approximate the system state without a full simulation of all the events occurring in the system. Key properties of the higher level behavior of certain classes of systems may be mediated by rare "surprises" in the behavior of their elements due to the principal of
interconnectivity, thus evading predictions except by brute force simulation.
Stephen Wolfram has provided such examples with simple
cellular automata, whose behavior is in most cases equally simple, but on rare occasions highly unpredictable.
Complexity theory (also called "science of complexity"), is a contemporary heir of systems thinking. It comprises both computational and holistic, relational approaches towards understanding
complex adaptive systems and, especially in the latter, its methods can be seen as the polar opposite to reductive methods. General theories of complexity have been proposed, and numerous complexity institutes and departments have sprung up around the world. The
Santa Fe Institute is arguably the most famous of them.
Holism in anthropology
There is an ongoing dispute on the definition of anthropology as
holistic and the "four-field" approach. Supporters of this definition,
[3] consider it holistic in two senses: it is concerned with all human beings across times and places, and with all dimensions of humanity (evolutionary, biophysical, sociopolitical, economic, cultural, psychological, etc.); also many academic programs following this approach take a "four-field" approach to anthropology that encompasses
physical anthropology,
archeology,
linguistics, and
cultural anthropology or
social anthropology. The definition of anthropology as
holistic and the "four-field" approach are disputed by leading anthropologist,
[ Unwrapping the Sacred Bundle: Reflections on the Disciplining of Anthropology, , Daniel A., Segal, Duke University Press, 2005, ] that consider those as artifacts from 19th century
social evolutionary thought that inappropriately impose scientific
positivism upon
cultural anthropology.
Holism in economics
With roots in
Schumpeter, the evolutionary approach might be considered the holist theory in economics. They share certain language from the biological evolutionary approach. They take into account how the
innovation system evolves overtime. Knowledge and know-how, know-who, know-what and know-why are part of the whole business economics. Knowledge can also be tacit, as described by
Michael Polanyi. These models are open, and consider that it is hard to predict exactly the impact of a policy measure. They are also less mathematical.
Holism in philosophy
Main articles: Semantic holism,
confirmation holism
In philosophy, any doctrine that emphasizes the priority of a whole over its parts is holism. In the
philosophy of language this becomes the claim, called
semantic holism, that the meaning of an individual word or sentence can only be understood in terms of its relations to a larger body of language, even a whole theory or a whole language. In the
philosophy of mind, a mental state may be identified only in terms of its relations with others. This is often referred to as ''content holism'' or ''holism of the mental''.
Epistemological and
confirmation holism are mainstream ideas in contemporary philosophy.
Holism in sociology
Main articles: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
Emile Durkheim developed a concept of holism which he opposed to the notion that a
society was nothing more than a simple collection of individuals. In more recent times,
Louis Dumont [4] has contrasted "holism" to "
individualism" as two different forms of societies. According to him, modern humans live in an individualist society, whereas ancient Greek society, for example, could be qualified as "holistic", because the individual found identity in the whole society. Thus, the individual was ready to sacrifice himself or herself for his or her
community, as his or her life without the ''
polis'' had no sense whatsoever.
Holism in teleological psychology
Alfred Adler believed that the individual (an integrated whole expressed through a self-consistent unity of thinking, feeling, and action, moving toward an unconscious,
fictional final goal), must be understood within the larger wholes of society, from the groups to which he belongs (starting with his face-to-face relationships), to the larger whole of mankind. The recognition of our social embeddedness and the need for developing an interest in the welfare of others, as well as a respect for nature, is at the heart of Adler's philosophy of living and principles of psychotherapy.
Edgar Morin, the French philosopher and sociobiologist, can be considered a holist based on the
transdisciplinary nature of his work.
Mel Levine, M.D., author of A Mind at a Time,
[5] and Co-Founder (with Charles R. Schwab) of the not-for-profit organization
All Kinds of Minds, can be considered a holist based on his view of the 'whole child' as a product of many systems and his work supporting the educational needs of children through the management of a child's educational profile as a whole rather than isolated weaknesses in that profile.
Holism in theological anthropology
In
theological anthropology, which belongs to theology and not to anthropology, holism is the belief that the nature of humans consists of an indivisible union of components such as
body,
soul and
spirit.
Applications of holism
Holism in architecture and industrial design
Architecture and industrial design are often seen as enterprises, which constitute a whole, or to put it another way, design is often argued to be an holistic enterprise.
[6] In architecture and industrial design holism tends to imply an all-inclusive design perspective, which is often regarded as somewhat exclusive to the two design professions. Holism is often considered as something that sets architects and industrial designers apart from other professions that participate in design projects. This view is supported and advocated by practising designers and design scholars alike, who often argue that architecture and/or industrial design have a distinct holistic character.
Holism in education reform
The
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives identifies many levels of cognitive functioning, which can be used to create a more
holistic education. In
authentic assessment, rather than using computers to score multiple choice test, a
standards based assessment uses trained scorers to score open-response items using
holistic scoring methods.
[7] In projects such as the North Carolina Writing Project, scorers are instructed not to count errors, or count numbers of points or supporting statements. The scorer is instead, instruct to judge holistically whether "as a whole" is it more a "2" or a "3". Critics question whether such a process can be as objective as computer scoring, and the degree to which such scoring methods can result in different scores from different scorers.
Holism in medicine
Holism appears in
psychosomatic medicine. In the 1970s the holistic approach was considered one possible way to conceptualize psychosomatic phenomena. Instead of charting one-way causal links from
psyche to
soma, or vice-versa, it aimed at a systemic model, where multiple biological, psychological and social factors were seen as interlinked. Other, alternative approaches at that time were psychosomatic and somatopsychic approaches, which concentrated on causal links only from psyche to soma, or from soma to psyche, respectively.
[8] At present it is commonplace in psychosomatic medicine to state that psyche and soma cannot really be separated for practical or theoretical purposes. A disturbance on any level - somatic, psychic, or social - will radiate to all the other levels, too. In this sense, psychosomatic thinking is similar to the
biopsychosocial model of medicine.
In alternative medicine, an 'holistic approach to healing' recognizes that the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical elements of each person comprise a system, and attempts to treat the whole person in its context,
[9] concentrating on the cause of the illness as well as symptoms. Examples of such holistic therapies include
Acupuncture,
Ayurveda,
Chinese medicine,
Chiropractic,
Osteopathic manipulation,
Naturopathic medicine,
Qi Gong,
Reiki, and
Reflexology. Some of these schools do not originate from the western medical-scientific tradition, and lack scientific evidence to verify their claims. Others, such as
osteopathic medicine, make an attempt to blend
allopathic medicine with other modalities.
Holistic Music
Holism in music can be seen as a gradual layering of different sounds allowing the distinction of the parts before a harmony or euphoria is reached when combined. Often disguised in genres such as IDM, downtempo or glitch; it is also used in a more minimal form for various healing therapies. A modern former of the Holistic religion is the quietly spoken
DeeJay Manticore.
See also
★
Emergence
★
Buckminster Fuller
★
Holon
★
Gestalt
★
Gestalt psychology
★
Kurt Goldstein
★
Howard T. Odum
★
Organicism
★
Synergetics
★
Synergy
★
Systems theory
★
Holistic science
★
Willard Van Orman Quine
★
Totalitarianism
Notes
1. According to the Oxford English Dictionary
2. Bertalanffy 1968, p.54.
3. Shore, Bradd (1999) ''Strange Fate of Holism.'' ''Anthropology News'' 40(9): 4-5.
4. Louis Dumont, 1984
5. (Simon & Schuster, 2002)
6. Holm, Ivar (2006). ''Ideas and Beliefs in Architecture and Industrial design: How attitudes, orientations, and underlying assumptions shape the built environment''. Oslo School of Architecture and Design. ISBN 8254701741.
7. Rubrics (Authentic Assessment Toolbox) "So, when might you use a holistic rubric? Holistic rubrics tend to be used when a quick or gross judgment needs to be made" [1]
8. Lipowski, 1977.
9. Definition holism
References
★
Ludwig von Bertalanffy, ''General System Theory. Foundations Development Applications.'' Allen Lane 1971 (1968)
★ Lipowski, Z.J.: "Psychosomatic medicine in seventies". Am. J. Psych. 134:3:233-244
★
Jan C. Smuts, ''Holism and Evolution'', 1926 MacMillan, Compass/Viking Press 1961 reprint: ISBN 0-598-63750-8, Greenwood Press 1973 reprint: ISBN 0-8371-6556-3, Sierra Sunrise 1999 (mildly edited): ISBN 1-887263-14-4
★ Leenhardt, M. ''Do Kamo. La personne et le mythe dans le monde mélanésien''. Gallimard. Paris. 1947.
Further reading
★ Hayek, F.A. von. ''The Counter-revolution of Science. Studies on the abuse of reason.'' Free Press. New York. 1957.
★ Mandelbaum, M. ''Societal Facts'' in Gardner 1959.
★ Phillips, D.C. ''Holistic Thought in Social Science''. Stanford University Press. Stanford. 1976.
★ Dreyfus, H.L. ''Holism and Hermeneutics'' in ''The Review of Metaphysics''. 34. pp. 3-23.
★ James, S. ''The Content of Social Explanation''. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 1984.
★ Harrington, A. ''Reenchanted Science: Holism in German Culture from Wilhelm II to Hitler''. Princeton University Press. 1996.
External links
★ Brief explanation of Koestler's
derivation of "holon"
★
Holism in Ayurveda
★
Holism in nature – and coevolution in ecosystems
★ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article:
"Holism and Nonseparability in Physics"
★ James Schombert of
University of Oregon Physics Dept on
quantum holism
★ Theory of
sociological holism from "World of Wholeness"
★ DeeJay Manticore Bleeps & Beeps
[2]
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