HOLISM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does holism mean? 

• HOLISM (noun)
  The noun HOLISM has 1 sense:

1. the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole

  Familiarity information: HOLISM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HOLISM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

holism; holistic theory

Context example:

holistic theory has been applied to ecology and language and mental states

Hypernyms ("holism" is a kind of...):

theory (a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena)

Domain member category:

organicism (theory that the total organization of an organism rather than the functioning of individual organs is the determinant of life processes)

configurationism; Gestalt psychology ((psychology) a theory of psychology that emphasizes the importance of configurational properties)

Antonym:

atomism ((chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles)

Derivation:

holistic (emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole)