holism

holism
Any doctrine emphasizing the priority of a whole over its parts. In the philosophy of language, this becomes the claim that the meaning of an individual word or sentence can only be understood in terms of its relations to an indefinitely larger body of language, such as a whole theory, or even a whole language or form of life. In the philosophy of mind, a mental state similarly may be identified only in terms of its relations with others. Moderate holism may allow that other things besides these relationships also count; extreme holism would hold that the network of relationships is all that we have. A holistic view of science holds that experience only confirms or disconfirms large bodies of doctrine, impinging at the edges, and leaving some leeway over the adjustments that it requires (see Duhem thesis ).

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

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  • holism — HOLÍSM s.n. (Filoz.) Concepţie care interpretează teza ireductibilităţii întregului la suma părţilor sale, socotind drept factor integrator al lumii un principiu imaterial şi incognoscibil. – Din fr. holisme. Trimis de gall, 13.09.2007. Sursa:… …   Dicționar Român

  • holism — 1926, apparently by S.African Gen. J.C. Smuts (1870 1950) in his book Holism and Evolution which treats of evolution as a process of unification of separate parts; see HOLISTIC (Cf. holistic) + ISM (Cf. ism) …   Etymology dictionary

  • holism — [hō′liz΄əm] n. [ HOL(O) + ISM] the view that an organic or integrated whole has an independent reality which cannot be understood simply through an understanding of its parts holist n …   English World dictionary

  • Holism — Distinguish from the suffix holism, which describes addictions. Holism (from gr. ὅλος holos , a Greek word meaning all , entire , total ) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (biological, chemical, social, economic, mental,… …   Wikipedia

  • Holism — Holisme Holisme est la francisation de holism, un néologisme forgé en 1926 par l homme d État sud africain Jan Christiaan Smuts pour son ouvrage Holism and Evolution[1]. La première définition historique du holisme est : « the tendency… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • -holism — Distinguish from the word holism, which describes properties of systems. In contemporary modern English holic is a suffix that can be added to a subject to denote an addiction to it. The term is derived from alcoholism, one of the first… …   Wikipedia

  • holism — holist, n. /hoh liz euhm/, n. Philos. 1. the theory that whole entities, as fundamental components of reality, have an existence other than as the mere sum of their parts. Cf. organicism (def. 1). 2. Also, holiatry. Med. care of the entire… …   Universalium

  • Holism — the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its constituent parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave. The general principle of holism is …   Mini philosophy glossary

  • HOLISM —    a term used by General Jan SMUTS in his book Holism and Evolution (1926) to express his BELIEF in emergent EVOLUTION. The idea comes from IDEALIST PHILOSOPHY and expresses the notion of wholeness. In recent years it has become a buzz word in… …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • holism — [[t]ho͟ʊlɪzəm[/t]] N UNCOUNT Holism is the belief that everything in nature is connected in some way. [FORMAL] …   English dictionary

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