Title: Holistic Approach | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: Holistic Approach
Holistic Approach
Holistic approach
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Content: Parts and wholes, at the macro- and micro-level, must be understood. The basic lesson of a combined and complementary parts-whole approach is that every entity is both part and whole — an idea reenforced by Arthur Koestler 's concept of a holon. A holon is any entity that is both a part of a larger system and itself a system made up of parts. It is essential to recognize that holism can include the study of any whole, the entirety of any individual in all its ramifications, without implying any organic analogy other than organisms themselves. A holistic approach alone, especially in its extreme form, is unrealistic, condemning scholars to an unproductive wallowing in an unmanageable complexity. Holism and reductionism are both needed for accessing and understanding an increasingly complex world. See also Environmental ethics
[ Gerald L. Young Ph.D. ]
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BOOKS
Bowen, W. "Reductions and Holism." In Thinking About Nature: An Investigation of Nature, Value and Ecology. Athens: