Holon

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The term holon (from Greek ὅλος, hólos and ὀν, on “the part of a whole being”) was coined by Arthur Koestler and means a whole that is part of another whole. It is also described as "whole / part".

For example, a cell is a whole in itself, but part of a larger whole, an organ that in turn is part of the body . Such a hierarchy of holons is called a holarchy .

According to Ken Wilber , everyone has a holon

  • two "drives" or "tendencies": to preserve one's wholeness ("agency") and to preserve one's partiality ("communion")
  • a "vertical ability" for "self-transcendence" (formation of higher units) and "self-dissolution" (disintegration into its components).

These are the "four drives" of every holon.

According to this interpretation, holar systems can be found today in philosophy , physics , automation technology , ecology , sociology , economics and computer science .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Ken Wilber : A Brief History of the Cosmos. 7th edition, Fischer, Frankfurt, ISBN 3-596-13397-1 , p. 40 ff.