Holism

Holism ( gr ὅλος holos "whole" ), including holism is the idea that natural ( social, economic, physical, chemical, biological, mental, linguistic, etc.) systems and their properties as a whole and not as a composition of its parts be considered. Holism considers that a system works as a whole and this can not be fully understood from the interaction of all its parts. The opposite position to this is the reductionism or atomism, which attempts to describe the composite system as a result of the elements and their properties.

The term " holism " comes from Christiaan Smuts January back in his 1926 published book Holism and Evolution. Holistic basic assumptions are also utilized in earlier eras, such as in the writings of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Aristotle ( "The whole is more than the sum of its parts" ). Main argument of holism versus reductionism is often an incomplete explicability of the whole from the properties of its parts.

Christiaan Smuts January built his theory of holism on the basis of the idea of creative evolution. To this end, he attempted a synthesis of science and philosophy, saying that to explain the evolution of both is necessary, first, the structures ( the subject of the sciences ), and on the other the principles ( object of philosophy ). To understand the nature, a part of it must be taken that includes both. Matter and life are both composed of substructures, their arrangement leads to natural whole. These substructures are also each a whole. If it is an atom, a molecule, a chemical compound, plants, animals or states, all in each case a whole. Conglomerates of these wholes again form a new whole with new features and capabilities. This totality or holism this is the driving force of evolution, their causa vera as Smuts says, which influence on the mechanisms of evolution, variation and selection, exerts. The different forms of variation were explained by Smuts through individual expediency, use ( use of body parts in new ways ) and by physical environmental conditions. Any variation is not a variation of an isolated part of the body, but there is always a plurality of variations which change the organism as a whole, Smuts. " The variation of A comprises necessarily a number of rectified adjustments dependent on A, and are not caused or independently obtained. (...) Here is the whole thing hits the, selection ' by the application of its central supervision. " When Smuts Holism is not only a principle of explanation, but as it were automatically, as a creative cause of evolution.

Adolf Meyer- Abich has developed a comprehensive Holismuskonzeption ontologically as an epistemological perspective. The Holismusbegriff is a relative and correlative term with Meyer - Abich. For Haldane and Meyer- Abich the biological laws are not from the laws of physics can be derived, since the laws of physics are simplifications of the biological laws, and thus the biological universal and generally applicable than the physical. The biology thus includes the theories of physics and chemistry, which, as Meyer- Abich, the physical theories by simplification of the biological derivable, but not vice versa.

Holism in education and pedagogy

Formal education is based usually on reductionist subjects and methods. In particular, the assessments of the OECD ( eg PISA), it became clear that due to a now outdated approach decreases the reading comprehension and resultantly, an understanding of the environments, or a problem-solving competence only to a small extent are often possible. Under the influence of neurobiology, cognitive science and evolutionary epistemology is now gaining a holistic approach, as for example, John Dewey inspired, is becoming increasingly important.

Holism in the structuralist sense

In a structuralist sense holism is also defined as " fact " that the elements of the subject area that are limited only by their mutual relations, what they are. For example, a drug for a particular ailment containing an active substance that promises relief effect. This is the relevant subject area of a targeted treatment. There is a reciprocal relationship between suffering and alleviating the effect of the drug. In the holistic meaning of this fact excluded from all effects of the drug that are not related to the suffering relief. Those effects are carved out by itself commonly referred to as side effects, although it also is in the actual effects, nichtholistischen sense. The effect is the side effect if it is not part of the subject area. Does the drug despite relieving effect no active ingredient, yet there is a reciprocal relationship. Thus the analytical causal relationship between the elements of the subject area for the holism is not a requirement.

Semantic holism

The semantic holism considers that the meaning of a sentence could only be determined by the overall context in the respective language. He was, inter alia, represented by Quine and Davidson.

Epistemological holism

After the epistemological holism (also: epistemic holism ), a hypothesis not in isolation but only in the context of a comprehensive theory verified ( falsified ) will be ( See also: Duhem - Quine thesis ). A representative was Norwood Russell Hanson.

The epistemological holism is related to the semantic holism.

Methodological Holism

As a methodological holism (or Methodological collectivism ) is called the holistic position, according to the wholes will be studied as a social wholes and not on individual characteristics, such as on the actions of individuals, be reduced ( Nagel, Mandelbaum, Goldstein ) are.

The methodological holism is a consequence of sociological holism, but not vice versa.

Sociological holism

As a sociological holism refers to the holistic position, according to the historical and social phenomena can not be reduced to the description and explanation of the behavior of individuals.

So there is Émile Durkheim According irreducible, social wholes with special properties.

The sociological holism has the methodological holism result, but not vice versa.

Holism in the economy

In economics, a business is holistic when it - in contrast to Taylorist company - the positive scale effects of the division of labor is not exploited.