Tag: J C Smuts

 

Although the ideas of holism have roots that go back to ancient times the term along with ‘holistic’ stems only from its use in Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts’ book published in 1926;  

holistic  – 

holistic – 1926, coined, along with holism, by Gen. J.C. Smuts (1870-1950), from Gk. holos “whole” (see safe (adj.)). In reference to the theory that regards nature as consisting of wholes. Holistic medicine is first attested 1960.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Note that, ‘Holistic medicine is first attested 1960‘ Here are some quotations from the book Holism and Evolution  

“Life has divided into millions of species, the fundamental units, each playing a unique role in relation to the whole” (Wilson, 1992) (p33).

“Holism is an attempt at synthesis, an attempt at bringing together many currents of thought and development such as we have seen in our day. It is not a system of philosophy” (Smuts, 1952) (p289). “This (Smuts’ Holism and Evolution) is not a treatise on philosophy; not even on the philosophy of Nature; not even on the philosophy of Evolution. It is an exploration of one idea, an attempt to sketch in large and mostly vague, tentative outline of the meaning and consequences of one particular idea” (Smuts, 1926) (p319). 

“All great truths are in their essence simple; and the absence of simplicity of statement only shows that the ultimate form has not yet been reached.” (Smuts, 1926). Holism simplifies life and causes a peaceful order.

I suspect that a lot of scientists would challenge  the idea of univsersal simplicity – surely that simplicity is part of a world-view, closer to the mystical than the scientific – nevertheless J.C. Smuts was well ahead of his time in writing his book “Holism and Evolution“.  We have lost our sense of the whole. We focus only on ‘geo’ in geology, and have forgotten the whole to which ‘geo’ belongs i.e ‘ology’, the Whole.  (The same with all of the other ‘ologies’). Holism tries to maintain the harmony between parts and whole.

SOURCE

I take in that ‘ology’ has common root with ‘logos’ which means word, reasoning and much else see HERE  From this complex etymology we can see that logos means word, reason and much else.  I take it to mean The Whole – the reality of oneness that makes of all particulars the Whole.  For some it would be the Holy Spirit or the Breath of God.