In Philosophy, logical holism is the belief that the world operates in such a way that no part can be known without the whole being known first.
Theoretical holism is a theory in philosophy of science, that a theory of science can only be understood in its entirety, introduced by Pierre Duhem. Different total theories of science are understood by making them commensurable allowing statements in one theory to be converted to sentences in another. Richard Rorty argued that when two theories are incompatible a process of hermeneutics is necessary. and introduced a form of logical atomism.
A unique kind of holism is found in Chinese philosophy, especially in the writings of the Tiantai school of Buddhism, beginning with the works of Zhiyi. The Buddhist studies scholar and philosopher Brook Ziporyn terms it "Omnicentric holism".
See also
- Doctrine of internal relations
- Meaning holism