holism (HyperDic hyper-dictionary)

English > 1 sense of the word *holism*:
NOUN	cognition	holism, holistic theory	the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole

English > *holism*: 1 sense > noun 1, cognition
Meaning	The theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole.
Example	"holism holds that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
Synonym	holistic theory
Category of	Gestalt psychology, configurationism	(psychology) a theory of psychology that emphasizes the importance of configurational properties
Category of	organicism	theory that the total organization of an organism rather than the functioning of individual organs is the determinant of life processes
Broader	theory	A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world
Opposite	atomism, atomic theory, atomist theory, atomistic theory	(chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles
Spanish	holismo
Catalan	holisme
Adjectives	holistic	emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole

HyperDic: holism