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September 20, 2005

Holons.org

The holons.org web site is about waking up from the sleep of everyday life. There have been many things in my life that have helped awaken me from that sleep: people, places, events, activities, books, movies, etc. The technical psychological meaning of "the sleep of everyday life" is consensus consciousness trance as described in Charles T. Tart's book Waking Up.
"Whole atoms are parts of molecules; whole molecules are parts of cells; whole cells are parts of organisms, and so on. Each whole is simultaneously a part, a whole/part, a holon. And reality is composed, not of things nor processes nor wholes nor parts, but of whole/parts, holons."
"A new perspective on whole-part relationships is taking shape around the concept of the holon - a term coined by Arthur Koestler to designate that which is simultaneously a whole in its own right and a part of a larger whole. An atom is a whole in itself. When it is also part of a molecule it becomes a holon, or a whole-part. The molecule that is also part of a cell is a holon, as is the cell that is part of an organ, and so on. This hierarchy of relationships from the atom to the organism is known as a holarchy. The concepts of holon and holarchy are fundamental to understanding the healthy function of complex living systems, which requires that each of their whole-parts maintain its own identity and boundaries even as it functions as part of the larger whole."

David C. Korten, The Post-Corporate World

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