2. Does a group have a “character” that is
different from the individuals that make it
up?
A football team may consist of eleven
great players and yet do badly in a league.
How?
19. Is the sum of the parts equal to the whole?
Or does the “whole” have characteristics that are “more
than” the sum?
20. Is the sum of the parts equal to the whole?
Or does the “whole” have characteristics that are “more
than” the sum?
21. a few words from John Cleese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M-vnmejwXo
22. Holism
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The whole contains properties that cannot be
discovered through the analysis of parts
23. “HOLISM is … simply the belief that ‘the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts’. No one in his
right mind could reject holism.
“REDUCTIONISM is … simply the belief that ‘a
whole can be understood completely if you
understand its parts, and the nature of their “sum”’.
No one in her left brain could reject
reductionism.” (Hofstadter 1980: 312)
27. Verstehen Position
“the main aim of the human sciences is to understand the
meaning of various social practices from the inside as they
are understood by the subjects themselves.”
