O Holism it is a philosophical concept associated with totality. The term comes from the Greek (holos) and means “whole, whole, set” in a way that is supported by the theory of integral understanding. That is, the whole is in each part and each part is in the whole.
The concept of holism, however, has a wide scope and is also used in other areas of knowledge: health, education, psychology, physics, ecology, administration, arts, among others.
The term was created in 1926 by the African soldier and intellectual Jan Christiaan Smuts (1870-1950) in his work “Holism and Evolution”. According to him, the whole is not the mere sum of its parts, since the whole and its parts influence and determine each other.
Thus, holism presupposes the union of the parts through the interrelationship and correlation between them. In other words, it is the interaction of the whole (like an organism) through its component parts. Thus, we can observe that the concept of holism is opposed to reductionism, atomism and Cartesian theory.
In reductionism, the complex system is reduced and explained through its constituent parts. In atomism, the smallest part of matter (atoms) are indivisible and explain all natural phenomena. In Cartesian theory, created by René Descartes, it seeks to explain phenomena through the maximum division or decomposition of things into simpler units.
Holistic System
The holistic system aims at overcoming paradigms, so that it considers the whole, where characteristics cannot be determined or explained simply as the sum of its parts. In other words, the whole transcends the sum of its components.
Below are some holistic approaches:
- in philosophy: the greek philosopher Aristotle (384 a. C.-322 a. C.) was one of the first to reflect on aspects of holism when addressing the concept in his work “Metaphysics”. According to him, "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. Therefore, the French philosopher Augusto Comte (1798-1857) uses the concept to understand science as a whole.
- On education: educational theories focus on holism as a more effective way of teaching and learning so that the student has a broader view of knowledge, which leads to a better understanding of the phenomena in their totality. Thus, things should not be explained separately, but from an interdisciplinary perspective.
- In Administration: many companies currently have a holistic view (systems thinking) to achieve success, contrary to the reductionist and mechanistic logic. Thus, the organization is seen globally from the union of the parts that compose it (resources, strategies, actions, activities, profit, among others) in order to obtain a clearer and more accurate view of the set.
- In health: If we think about alternative medicines or therapies, the understanding of the human being is only possible from the relationship between the parts: body, mind and spirit, by example, in the assumptions of traditional Chinese medicine, ayurveda, herbal medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, reiki, do-in, shiatsu, yoga, tai-chi-chuan, among others. According to alternative medicine theories, the human being is indivisible, as there is a relationship between the parts of the body, which are influenced by the mind and emotions.
Also read about Rationalism