Doornkloof – the humble home of Jan Smuts, father of holism. Smuts was twice Prime Minister of the then Union of South Africa, the second time during the trying years of World War II, when he was simultaneously contributing to the war effort of the allies and fending off those in South Africa who were against the war effort and wanting to support Hitler against the “English”.
Born on a farm in Malmesbury in the then Cape Colony on 24 May 1870, he only started going to school at the age of 12 when his older brother died. His formidable intellect and self-discipline ensured that he caught up to his fellows within four years and went on to University at the age of 16. He graduated with double firsts in literature and science, gaining him access to a scholarship which enabled him to go to Christ's College, Cambridge, where he read law and wrote a book on Walt Whitman called Walt Whitman: A Study in the Evolution of Personality which was, for various reasons, not published until 1973. Learning-Org November 1999: Entropy production in the spiritual world LO23314.
Jan Smuts (South African statesman) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. "Letter from Einstein to Smuts" 24 June 1936, Vol 54, Folio 33, Cambridge University Library. Holism. For the suffix, see holism.
Holism (from Greek ὅλος holos "all, whole, entire") is the idea that natural systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) and their properties should be viewed as wholes, not as collections of parts. This often includes the view that systems function as wholes and that their functioning cannot be fully understood solely in terms of their component parts.[1][2] Reductionism may be viewed as the complement of holism. Reductionism analyzes a complex system by subdividing or reduction to more fundamental parts. The Shuttleworth Foundation is an innovative non-profit organisation. Holism South Africa - Home.