From a page with two Arthur Koestler quotes, who is responsible for “holon” as a term:
- No man is an island- he is a holon. A Janus-faced entity who, looking inward, sees himself as a self-contained unique whole, looking outward as a dependent part. His self-assertive tendency is the dynamic manifestation of his unique wholeness, his autonomy and independence as a holon. Its equally universal antagonist, the integrative tendency, expresses his dependence on the larger whole to which he belongs: his ‘part-ness.’
From here
- A holarchy is a hierarchy of holons. Entire organs such as the kidneys, heart, and brain are capable of continuing their functions, as quasi-independent wholes, when isolated from the organism and suplied with the proper nutrients.
…
Level behaviour: The holon at one level is not necessarily the “sum” of its subordinates. The characteristics of holons at one level are not representative of the characteristics of the level above or below them. The further down the holarchy, the more mechanized, stereotyped, and predictable the behavior. Higher level holons have more flexibility and function a more abstract state.
And here’s a cool one on holarchies:
- A Holon is a node in a Holarchy. A Holon looks up for what it needs to cooperate with and integrate with. It looks sideways for what it needs to compete with. It looks down for what it wants to command. Each holon can not be fully explained by or predicted by a study of its parts. It is something more. A Holon is also part of something bigger that it is being affected by. But at the same time it has a high degree of autonomy, it has a life of its own.
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