Primacy of the Whole

Discussion

Bob Powell, 9/01/06

"Systems principles indicate that we must give real weight to the collective aspect of reality ... to the "primacy of the whole.'

First, systems have emergent properties that are not associated with any of the parts.

An example of an emergent property is wetness. Neither hydrogen nor oxygen has this property, but in combination as H2O, water is wet. We can consider consciousness itself to be an emergent property … examining individual neurons in a person's brain doesn't reveal consciousness.

As Peter Senge notes: "Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants. Living systems have integrity. Their character depends on the whole. The same is true for organizations; to understand the most challenging managerial issues requires seeing the whole system that generates the issues."

Second, a fundamental principle of system dynamics states that the structure of the system gives rise to its behavior. The inability to see the power of systemic effects is so powerful that there's a name for it. It's known as the "fundamental attribution error." (http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/primacy.shtml)