Beyond Atomism and Holism—the Concept of the Holon

Abstract

The concept of the holon is meant to supply the missing link between atomism and holism; and to supplant the dualistic way of thinking in terms of 'parts' and 'wholes', which is so deeply engrained in mental habits, by a multilevelled stratified approach. The term holon may be applied to any stable subwhole in an organismic, cognitive, or social hierarchy which displays rule-governed behaviour and/or structural gestalt constancy. Thus biological holons are self-regulating 'open systems' governed by a set of fixed rules which account for the holon's coherence, stability, and its specific pattern of structure and function. The holons which constitute an organismic or social hierarchy are Janus-faced entities: facing upward, towards the apex, they function as dependent parts of a larger whole facing downward. The opposite aspect of the holon is its integrative tendency to function as an integral part of an existing or evolving larger whole.