It would seem that the word 'Holistic' has become part of the vocabulary
of people working in the systems area. It would also seem that the use of
the word is increasingly outstripping it's often limited meaning to a
perplexed community of non-systems thinking scientists and economists. In
my own experience, holistic has become a byword for a revolution in
agricultural or farm management. Some farmers are adopting 'holistic'
management almost as an evangelically inspired movement. One non-profit
operation in the USA has developed a trademarked managment system out of
the concept for farm managment that is causing all manner of interesting
reactions here in Australia. In some applications, ' holistic management'
seems to be philosophically (if not practically) aligned with learning
organisation management.
What does this word mean, or even more importantly, what does it imply
about things like management, policy and research? I have decided to
prepare a paper on the subject to facilitate some debate on the subject.
I have started with the official definition of the term: 'the
philosophical theory that wholes (which are more than the mere sums of
their parts) are fundamental aspects of the real'. Two related aspects
arise from this definition. First, the notion that whole system behaviour
is explained by more than the sum of the behaviours of its constituent
components and second, that holism is synonymous with the 'realistic'
explanation of a system's behaviour.
Another problem is that the word 'holistic' is used by people from many
different disciplines: medicine, economics, management and biology to name
four. The term seems to be interpreted differently from each perspective.
I would like to foster some discussion around the meaning of 'holism'.
Any reactions from this list would be most welcome!
Some questions to start the ball rolling:
What do you think 'holistic' means?
Is holistic management a learning organisation concept?
Is 'holistic' the same thing as 'systems'? (which might imply that system
dynamics is the same thing as holistic dynamics)
Is 'holistic' a theory or a process?
Do you consider that current usage of the term is rather superficial?
Do we need a new up-graded definition of the term?
Does 'holism' have the same meaning across different disciplines?
Looking forward to your response.
regards
-- Roderic Gill rgill@metz.une.edu.auDr Roderic A. Gill Deputy Director, Centre for Agricultural and Resource Economics (CARE) Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia telephone: 067 73 2280, fax: 067 733944, mobile: 015 293 288
"Wisdom is a happy marriage between respect for tradition on the one hand, and confidence in one's own discernment on the other".