holarch

Holarch is a term used to describe a system or entity that is simultaneously a whole and a part. It is a concept that arises from the idea of holarchy, which is a social and organizational structure composed of self-organizing, semi-autonomous holons. A holon is something that is both a whole and a part, existing simultaneously at different levels of a hierarchy. For instance, a cell is a holon because it is a complete entity in itself, yet it is also a part of a larger organism. Similarly, a person is a holon, being a self-contained individual but also a member of families, communities, and societies.

The concept of holarchy was developed by Arthur Koestler in his 1967 book "The Ghost in the Machine." Koestler used the term to explain the nested hierarchies found in nature and society, suggesting that these systems are not simply additive but possess emergent properties at each level. Understanding holarchic systems can be useful in fields ranging from biology and psychology to management and artificial intelligence, as it provides a framework for analyzing complex, interconnected structures and their dynamic interactions. The emphasis is on the interplay between the autonomy of the individual part and its dependence on the larger whole.