- Etymology
- From Greek ὅλος (holos) "whole" + -ism. Doctrine of the whole.
- Stem hol-
- From Greek ὅλος (holos). "Whole, entire."
- Suffix -ism
- Forming nouns. "Doctrine, theory, or practice of."
- Origin
- J.C. Smuts. 1926.
- Main proponent(s)
- J.C. Smuts
- Structural characteristic
- Nonlinear emergence
- Meaning
- The whole possesses properties beyond the sum of its parts—organic unity.
- Earliest use
- Smuts 1926. Holism and Evolution.
- Definition
- The doctrine that the whole possesses properties beyond the sum of its parts—organic unity. Nonlinear emergence.