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101-596: The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts (1870–1950) in his 1926 book Holism and Evolution . While he never assigned a consistent meaning to the word, Smuts used holism to represent at least three features of reality. First, holism claims that every scientifically measurable thing, either physical or psychological, does possess a nature as a whole beyond its parts. His examples include atoms , cells , or an individual's personality . Smuts discussed this sense of holism in his claim that an individual's body and mind are not completely separated but instead connect and represent

202-632: A peace conference at Bloemfontein to settle each side's grievances. With an intimate knowledge of the British, Smuts took control of the Transvaal delegation. Sir Alfred Milner , head of the British delegation, took exception to his dominance, and conflict between the two led to the collapse of the conference, consigning South Africa to war. Smuts was the first South African to be internationally regarded as an important psychologist. During Smuts's undergraduate years at Cambridge University, he produced

303-417: A career in psychology. He considered psychology as "too impersonal to study great personalities", and believed that the holistic tendency of the personality would be studied best through personology. Smuts, however, never inquired further into the idea of personology due to him wanting to continue laying the foundation of the concept of holism. He never returned to either of the topics. Holism Although

404-457: A classical problem for the philosophy of language concerning how words convey meaning, there is debate over its validity mostly from two angles of criticism: opposition to compositionality and, especially, instability of meaning. The first claims that meaning holism conflicts with the compositionality of language. Meaning in some languages is compositional in that meaning comes from the structure of an expression's parts. Meaning holism suggests that

505-530: A commander "of the dashing type" for the Middle East in succession to Murray , but Smuts refused the command (late May) unless promised resources for a decisive victory, and he agreed with Robertson that Western Front commitments did not justify a serious attempt to capture Jerusalem . Allenby was appointed instead. Like other members of the War Cabinet, Smuts's commitment to Western Front efforts

606-511: A diverse number of subjects in addition to law. He wrote a book, Walt Whitman : A Study in the Evolution of Personality . It was not published until 1973, after his death, but it can be seen that Smuts in this book had already conceptualized his thinking for his later wide-ranging philosophy of holism . Smuts graduated in 1894 with a double first . Over the previous two years, he had received numerous academic prizes and accolades, including

707-492: A friend from Victoria College. In reply, Professor Marais enclosed a cheque for a substantial sum, by way of loan, encouraging Smuts to let him know if he ever found himself in need again. Thanks to Marais, Smuts's financial standing was secure. He gradually began to enter more into the social aspects of the university, although he retained a single-minded dedication to his studies. During this time in Cambridge, Smuts studied

808-608: A great interest in Smuts's book. Adler requested permission from Smuts to have the book translated to German and published in Germany. Although Smuts's concept of holism is grounded in the natural sciences, he claimed that it has a relevance in philosophy, ethics, sociology, and psychology. In Holism and Evolution , he argued that the concept of holism is "grounded in evolution and is also an ideal that guides human development and one's level of personality actualization." Smuts stated in

909-446: A liquid by examining its component molecules, atoms, ions or electrons. A methodological holist, on the other hand, believes there is something misguided about this approach; one proponent, a condensed matter physicist, puts it: “the most important advances in this area come about by the emergence of qualitatively new concepts at the intermediate or macroscopic levels—concepts which, one hopes, will be compatible with one's information about

1010-512: A manuscript in 1895 in which he analysed the personality of the famous American poet Walt Whitman . Due to his manuscript being considered unviable, it was only published 23 years after his death in 1973. Smuts went on to produce his next manuscript, which he completed in 1910, entitled An Inquiry into the Whole . His manuscript was then revised in 1924 and published in 1926 with the title Holism and Evolution . Smuts had no interest in pursuing

1111-476: A particular type of thing. The "type" of which it is a part is in itself an abstract object. The abstract–concrete distinction is often introduced and initially understood in terms of paradigmatic examples of objects of each kind: Abstract objects have often garnered the interest of philosophers because they raise problems for popular theories. In ontology , abstract objects are considered problematic for physicalism and some forms of naturalism . Historically,

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1212-590: A rebellion of 500 to 600 people, of which 200 were said to be armed (although only about 40 weapons were captured after the Bondelswarts were crushed). Gysbert Hofmeyr , the Mandatory Administrator, organised 400 armed men, and sent in aircraft to bomb the Bondelswarts. Casualties included 100 Bondelswart deaths, including a few women and children. A further 468 men were either wounded or taken prisoner. South Africa's international reputation

1313-412: A third realm, different from the external world or from internal consciousness . (See Popper's three worlds .) Another popular proposal for drawing the abstract–concrete distinction contends that an object is abstract if it lacks causal power. A causal power has the ability to affect something causally. Thus, the empty set is abstract because it cannot act on other objects. One problem with this view

1414-582: Is biological organization which models biological systems and structures only in terms of their component parts. "The reductionist approach has successfully identified most of the components and many of the interactions but, unfortunately, offers no convincing concepts or methods to understand how system properties emerge...the pluralism of causes and effects in biological networks is better addressed by observing, through quantitative measures, multiple components simultaneously and by rigorous data integration with mathematical models." The objective in systems biology

1515-481: Is also sometimes used in the context of various lifestyle practices, such as dieting , education, and healthcare, to refer to ways of life that either supplement or replace conventional practices. In these contexts, holism is not necessarily a rigorous or well-defined methodology for obtaining a particular lifestyle outcome. It is sometimes simply an adjective to describe practices which account for factors that standard forms of these practices may discount, especially in

1616-414: Is considered to broadly present insight into the ontological problem. In one sense, holism for physics is a perspective about the best way to understand the nature of a physical system. In this sense, holism is the methodological claim that systems are accurately understood according to their properties as a whole. A methodological reductionist in physics might seek to explain, for example, the behavior of

1717-454: Is independent and so there are no emergent properties within a language. Additionally, there is meaning molecularism which states that a change in one word alters the meaning of only a relatively small set of other words. The linguistic perspective of meaning holism is traced back to Quine but was subsequently formalized by analytic philosophers Michael Dummett , Jerry Fodor , and Ernest Lepore . While this holistic approach attempts to resolve

1818-539: Is no general consensus as to how to precisely define the two, examples include that things like numbers , sets , and ideas are abstract objects, while plants , dogs , and planets are concrete objects. Popular suggestions for a definition include that the distinction between concreteness versus abstractness is, respectively: between (1) existence inside versus outside space-time ; (2) having causes and effects versus not; 3) being related, in metaphysics , to particulars versus universals ; and (4) belonging to either

1919-407: Is not necessarily specified in meaning holism, but typically such a change is taken straightforwardly to affect the meaning of every word in the language. In scientific disciplines, reductionism is the opposing viewpoint to holism. But in the context of linguistics or the philosophy of language , reductionism is typically referred to as atomism. Specifically, atomism states that each word's meaning

2020-488: Is said to have been coined by Willard Van Orman Quine . Abstract object theory is a discipline that studies the nature and role of abstract objects. It holds that properties can be related to objects in two ways: through exemplification and through encoding. Concrete objects exemplify their properties while abstract objects merely encode them. This approach is also known as the dual copula strategy . The type–token distinction identifies physical objects that are tokens of

2121-463: Is that it is not clear exactly what it is to have causal power. For a more detailed exploration of the abstract–concrete distinction, see the relevant Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article. Recently , there has been some philosophical interest in the development of a third category of objects known as the quasi-abstract. Quasi-abstract objects have drawn particular attention in the area of social ontology and documentality . Some argue that

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2222-471: Is to advance models of the interactions in a system. Holistic approaches to modelling have involved cellular modelling strategies, genomic interaction analysis, and phenotype prediction. Systems medicine is a practical approach to systems biology and accepts its holistic assumptions. Systems medicine takes the systems of the human body as made up of a complete whole and uses this as a starting point in its research and, ultimately, treatment. The term holism

2323-645: The American Expeditionary Forces lacked the proper leadership and experience to be effective quickly. He supported the Anglo-French amalgamation policy towards the Americans. In particular, he had a low opinion of General John J. Pershing 's leadership skills, so much so that he proposed to Lloyd George that Pershing be relieved of command and US forces be placed "under someone more confident, like [himself]". This did not endear him to

2424-722: The Boer republics declared war and launched an offensive into the British-held Natal and Cape Colony areas, beginning the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. In the early stages of the conflict, Smuts served as Paul Kruger 's eyes and ears in Pretoria, handling propaganda, logistics, communication with generals and diplomats, and anything else that was required. In the second phase of the war, from mid-1900, Smuts served under Koos de la Rey , who commanded 500 commandos in

2525-473: The Dutch Reformed Church , of which he had once been a dedicated member, which demanded Calvinist teachings in schools. As Colonial Secretary, he opposed a movement for equal rights for South Asian workers, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi . During the years of Transvaal self-government, nobody could avoid the predominant political debate of the day: South African unification. Ever since

2626-716: The Jameson Raid , in the summer of 1895–96, Smuts was outraged. Feeling betrayed by his employer, friend and political ally, he resigned from De Beers, and left political life. Instead he became state attorney in the capital of the South African Republic , Pretoria . After the Jameson Raid, relations between the British and the Afrikaners had deteriorated steadily. By 1898, war seemed imminent. Orange Free State President Martinus Steyn called for

2727-480: The South African Party , a new pan-South African Afrikaner party. The harmony and co-operation soon ended. Smuts was criticised for his overarching powers, and the cabinet was reshuffled. Smuts lost Interior and Mines, but gained control of Finance. That was still too much for Smuts's opponents, who decried his possession of both Defence and Finance, two departments that were usually at loggerheads. At

2828-591: The South-West Africa Campaign for details). In 1916 General Smuts was put in charge of the conquest of German East Africa . Col (later BGen) J. H. V. Crowe commanded the artillery in East Africa under General Smuts and published an account of the campaign, General Smuts' Campaign in East Africa in 1918. Smuts was promoted to temporary lieutenant general on 18 February 1916, and to honorary lieutenant general for distinguished service in

2929-605: The Transvaal Colony , becoming a cabinet minister under Louis Botha . Smuts played a leading role in the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, helping shape its constitution. He and Botha established the South African Party , with Botha becoming the union's first prime minister and Smuts holding multiple cabinet portfolios. As defence minister he was responsible for the Union Defence Force during

3030-616: The Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and 1939 to 1948. Smuts was born to Afrikaner parents in the British Cape Colony . He was educated at Victoria College , Stellenbosch before reading law at Christ's College, Cambridge on a scholarship. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1894 but returned home the following year. In the leadup to the Second Boer War , Smuts practised law in Pretoria ,

3131-511: The classics , and Bible studies . His deeply traditional upbringing and serious outlook led to social isolation from his peers. He made outstanding academic progress, graduating in 1891 with double first-class honours in Literature and Science. During his last years at Stellenbosch, Smuts began to cast off some of his shyness and reserve. At this time he met Isie Krige , whom he later married. On graduation from Victoria College, Smuts won

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3232-434: The concentration camps of the enemy". He felt it would have been a crime to continue the war without the assurance of help from elsewhere and declared, "Comrades, we decided to stand to the bitter end. Let us now, like men, admit that that end has come for us, come in a more bitter shape than we ever thought." His opinions were representative of the conference, which then voted by 54 to 6 in favour of peace. Representatives of

3333-721: The 1913 South African Party conference, the Old Boers (Hertzog, Steyn, De Wet), called for Botha and Smuts to step down. The two narrowly survived a confidence vote, and the troublesome triumvirate stormed out, leaving the party for good. With the schism in internal party politics came a new threat to the mines that brought South Africa its wealth. A small-scale miners' dispute flared into a full-blown strike, and rioting broke out in Johannesburg after Smuts intervened heavy-handedly. After police shot dead twenty-one strikers, Smuts and Botha headed unaccompanied to Johannesburg to resolve

3434-710: The Americans once it was leaked. Smuts and Botha were key negotiators at the Paris Peace Conference . Both were in favour of reconciliation with Germany and limited reparations. Smuts was a key architect of the League of Nations through his correspondences with Woodrow Wilson, his work with the Imperial War Cabinet during the First World War and his book League of Nations: A Practical Suggestion . According to Jacob Kripp, Smuts saw

3535-624: The Australian Prime Minister, Billy Hughes , feared the rising power of the Japanese Empire in the post First World War world. When the former German East Africa was divided into two mandated territories ( Ruanda-Urundi and Tanganyika ), Smutsland was one of the proposed names for what became Tanganyika. Smuts, who had called for South African territorial expansion all the way to the River Zambesi since

3636-626: The British victory in the war, it was an inevitability, but it remained up to the South Africans to decide what sort of country would be formed, and how it would be formed. Smuts favoured a unitary state , with power centralised in Pretoria, with English as the only official language , and with a more inclusive electorate. To impress upon his compatriots his vision, he called a constitutional convention in Durban , in October 1908. There, Smuts

3737-706: The Ebden scholarship for overseas study. He decided to attend the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom to read law at Christ's College . Smuts found it difficult to settle at Cambridge. He felt homesick and isolated by his age and different upbringing from the English undergraduates. Worries over money also contributed to his unhappiness, as his scholarship was insufficient to cover his university expenses. He confided these worries to Professor J. I. Marais,

3838-527: The First World War. Smuts personally led troops in the East African campaign in 1916 and the following year joined the Imperial War Cabinet in London. He played a leading role at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 , advocating for the creation of the League of Nations and securing South African control over the former German South-West Africa . In 1919, Smuts replaced Botha as prime minister, holding

3939-759: The Governments met Lord Kitchener and at five minutes past eleven on 31 May 1902, the Acting State President of the South African Republic , Schalk Willem Burger signed the Treaty of Vereeniging , followed by the members of his government, Acting State President of the Orange Free State , Christiaan De Wet , and the members of his government. Despite Smuts's exploits as a general and a negotiator, nothing could mask

4040-527: The Hungarian border. Hungary's rejection led to the conference's approval of a Czechoslovak - Romanian invasion and harsher terms in the Treaty of Trianon . The Treaty of Versailles gave South Africa a Class C mandate over German South-West Africa (which later became Namibia ), which was occupied from 1919 until withdrawal in 1990. At the same time, Australia was given a similar mandate over German New Guinea , which it held until 1975. Both Smuts and

4141-656: The Hungarians that the agreement would not influence Hungary's final borders. He also teased the lifting of the economic blockade of the country and inviting the Hungarian soviet leaders to the Paris Peace Conference. Kun rejected the terms, and demanded the return to the Belgrade armistice line later that day, upon which Smuts ended negotiations and left. On 8 April he negotiated with Masaryk in Prague over

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4242-481: The League as necessary in unifying white internationalists and pacifying a race war through indirect rule by Europeans over non-whites and segregation. Kripp states that the League of Nations mandates system reflected a compromise between Smuts's desire to annex non-white territories and Woodrow Wilson's principles of trusteeship. He was sent to Budapest to negotiate with Béla Kun 's Hungarian Soviet Republic . This

4343-579: The Orange leaders began to see a final compromise as necessary to secure the concessions that Smuts had already made. They agreed to Smuts's draft South African constitution, which was duly ratified by the South African colonies. Smuts and Botha took the constitution to London, where it was passed by Parliament and given Royal Assent by King Edward VII in December 1909. The Union of South Africa

4444-517: The Rand, including murderous attacks on non-Europeans, conspicuously on African miners in their compounds, and this culminated in a general assault on the police. Smuts declared martial law and suppressed the insurrection in three days – at a cost of 291 police and army deaths, and 396 civilians killed. A Martial Law Commission was established which found that Smuts used larger forces than were strictly required, but had saved lives by doing so. The second

4545-546: The Second World War at the head of a pro-interventionist faction. He was appointed field marshal in 1941 and in 1945 signed the UN Charter , the only signer of the Treaty of Versailles to do so. His second term in office ended with the victory of his political opponents, the reconstituted National Party at the 1948 general election , with the new government beginning the implementation of apartheid . Smuts

4646-494: The Transvaal within British South Africa. Using the thorny political issue of South Asian labourers (' coolies '), the South Africans convinced Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and, with him, the cabinet and Parliament . Through 1906, Smuts worked on the new constitution for the Transvaal, and, in December 1906, elections were held for the Transvaal parliament. Despite being shy and reserved, unlike

4747-490: The Western Transvaal. Consequently, Smuts was left with a small force of 300 men, while another 100 men followed him. By January 1902 the British scorched-earth policy left little grazing land. One hundred of the cavalry that had joined Smuts were therefore too weak to continue and so Smuts had to leave these men with General Kritzinger . Intelligence indicated that at this time Smuts had about 3,000 men. To end

4848-549: The Western Transvaal. Smuts excelled at hit-and-run warfare , and the unit evaded and harassed a British army forty times its size. President Paul Kruger and the deputation in Europe thought that there was good hope for their cause in the Cape Colony . They decided to send General de la Rey there to assume supreme command, but then decided to act more cautiously when they realised that General de la Rey could hardly be spared in

4949-437: The behavior of individual parts represents the whole. However, the state of a system in quantum theory resists a certain kind of reductive analysis. For example, two spatially separated quantum systems are described as " entangled ," or nonseparable from each other, when a meaningful analysis of one system is indistinguishable from that of the other. There are different conceptions of nonseparability in physics and its exploration

5050-406: The book that "personality is the highest form of holism" (p. 292). Recognition from Adler Adler later wrote a letter, dated 31 January 1931, where he stated that he recommended Smuts's book to his students and followers. He referred to it as "the best preparation for the science of Individual Psychology". After Smuts gave permission for the translation and publication of his book in Germany, it

5151-589: The capital of the South African Republic . He led the republic's delegation to the Bloemfontein Conference and served as an officer in a commando unit following the outbreak of war in 1899. In 1902, he played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Vereeniging , which ended the war and resulted in the annexation of the South African Republic and Orange Free State into the British Empire. He subsequently helped negotiate self-government for

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5252-405: The composition of its physical parts, but that there are concrete properties aside from those of its basic physical parts. Theoretical physicist David Bohm (1917-1992) supports this view head-on. Bohm believed that a complete description of the universe would have to go beyond a simple list of all its particles and their positions, there would also have to be a physical quantum field associated with

5353-556: The concept of holism has been discussed by many, the term holism in academic terminology was first introduced and publicly shared in print by Smuts in the early twentieth century. Smuts was acknowledged for his contribution by getting the honour to write the first entry about the concept for the Encyclopaedia Britannica 1929 edition. The Austrian medical doctor, founder of the school of Individual Psychology, and psychotherapist, Alfred Adler (1870–1937), also showed

5454-523: The conflict, Smuts sought to take a major target, the copper-mining town of Okiep in the present-day Northern Cape Province (April–May 1902). With a full assault impossible, Smuts packed a train full of explosives, and tried to push it downhill, into the town, in order to bring the enemy garrison to its knees. Although this failed, Smuts had proved his point: that he would stop at nothing to defeat his enemies. Norman Kemp Smith wrote that General Smuts read from Immanuel Kant 's Critique of Pure Reason on

5555-438: The context of alternative medicine . Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts , OM , CH , DTD , ED , PC , KC , FRS (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts , 24 May 1870 – 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of

5656-639: The coveted George Long prize in Roman Law and Jurisprudence. One of his tutors, Professor Maitland , a leading figure among English legal historians, described Smuts as the most brilliant student he had ever met. Lord Todd , the Master of Christ's College, said in 1970 that "in 500 years of the College's history, of all its members, past and present, three had been truly outstanding: John Milton , Charles Darwin and Jan Smuts." In December 1894, Smuts passed

5757-609: The death of the former American President Woodrow Wilson , Smuts was quoted as saying that: "Not Wilson, but humanity failed at Paris." While in Britain for an Imperial Conference in June 1921 , Smuts went to Ireland and met Éamon de Valera to help broker an armistice and peace deal between the warring British and Irish nationalists. Smuts attempted to sell the concept of Ireland receiving Dominion status similar to that of Australia and South Africa. During his first premiership Smuts

5858-524: The defining subject matter of metaphysics or philosophical inquiry more broadly. To the extent that philosophy is independent of empirical research, and to the extent that empirical questions do not inform questions about abstracta, philosophy would seem especially suited to answering these latter questions. In modern philosophy , the distinction between abstract and concrete was explored by Immanuel Kant and G. W. F. Hegel . Gottlob Frege said that abstract objects, such as propositions, were members of

5959-441: The evening before the raid. Smith contended that this showed how Kant's critique can be a solace and a refuge, as well as a means to sharpen the wit. Combined with the British failure to pacify the Transvaal, Smuts's success left the United Kingdom with no choice but to offer a ceasefire and a peace conference, to be held at Vereeniging . Before the conference, Smuts met Lord Kitchener at Kroonstad station, where they discussed

6060-647: The examinations for the Inns of Court , entering the Middle Temple . His old Cambridge college, Christ's College, offered him a fellowship in Law. Smuts turned his back on a potentially distinguished legal future. By June 1895, he had returned to the Cape Colony, determined to make his future there. Smuts began to practise law in Cape Town , but his abrasive nature made him few friends. Finding little financial success in

6161-585: The fact that the Boers had been defeated. Lord Milner had full control of all South African affairs, and established an Anglophone elite, known as Milner's Kindergarten . As an Afrikaner, Smuts was excluded. Defeated but not deterred, in January 1905, he decided to join with the other former Transvaal generals to form a political party, Het Volk ('The People'), to fight for the Afrikaner cause. Louis Botha

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6262-420: The family farm, Bovenplaats , near Malmesbury , in the Cape Colony . His parents, Jacobus Smuts and his wife Catharina, were prosperous, traditional Afrikaner farmers, long established and highly respected. As the second son of the family, rural custom dictated that Jan would remain working on the farm. In this system, typically only the first son was supported for a full, formal education. In 1882, when Jan

6363-562: The field on 1 January 1917. Smuts's chief intelligence officer, Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen , wrote very critically of his conduct of the campaign. He believed Horace Smith-Dorrien (who had saved the British Army during the retreat from Mons and was the original choice as commander in 1916) would have quickly defeated the Germans. In particular, Meinertzhagen thought that frontal attacks would have been decisive, and less costly than

6464-528: The flanking movements preferred by Smuts, which took longer, so that thousands of Imperial troops died of disease in the field. He wrote: "Smuts has cost Britain many hundreds of lives and many millions of pounds by his caution... Smuts was not an astute soldier; a brilliant statesman and politician but no soldier." Meinertzhagen wrote these comments in October/November 1916, in the weeks after being relieved by Smuts due to symptoms of depression, and he

6565-670: The government side at Bulhoek amounted to one trooper wounded and one horse killed. Once again, there were charges of the unnecessary use of overwhelming force. However, no commission of enquiry was appointed. The third was the Bondelswarts Rebellion , in which Smuts supported the actions of the South African Administration in attacking the Bondelswarts in South West Africa . The mandatory administration moved to crush what they called

6666-405: The holistic idea of a person. In his second sense, Smuts referred to holism as the cause of evolution. He argued that evolution is neither an accident nor is it brought about by the actions of some transcendent force, such as a God. Smuts criticized writers who emphasized Darwinian concepts of natural selection and genetic variation to support an accidental view of natural processes within

6767-460: The instability of meaning holism is an acceptable feature from several different angles. In one example, contextual holists make this point simply by suggesting we often do not actually share identical inferential assumptions but instead rely on context to counter differences of inference and support communication. Scientific applications of holism within biology are referred to as systems biology . The opposing analytical approach of systems biology

6868-471: The late 19th century, was ultimately disappointed with the League awarding South-West Africa only a mandate status, as he had looked forward to formally incorporating the territory to South Africa. Smuts returned to South African politics after the conference. When Botha died in 1919, Smuts was elected prime minister, serving until a shocking defeat in 1924 at the hands of the National Party . After

6969-635: The law, he began to devote more and more of his time to politics and journalism, writing for the Cape Times . Smuts was intrigued by the prospect of a united South Africa, and joined the Afrikaner Bond . By good fortune, Smuts's father knew the leader of the group, Jan Hofmeyr . Hofmeyr in turn recommended Jan to Cecil Rhodes , who owned the De Beers mining company. In 1895, Smuts became an advocate and supporter of Rhodes. When Rhodes launched

7070-407: The meaning of individual words depends on the meaning of other words, forming a large web of interconnections. In general, meaning holism states that the properties which determine the meaning of a word are connected such that if the meaning of one word changes, the meaning of every other word in the web changes as well. The set of words that alter in meaning due to a change in the meaning of some other

7171-459: The meaning of other words, then in order to communicate a message, the sender and the receiver must share an identical set of inferential assumptions or beliefs. If these beliefs were different, meaning may be lost. Many types of communication would be directly affected by the principles of meaning holism such as informative communication, language learning, and communication about psychological states. Nevertheless, some meaning holists maintain that

7272-496: The meaning of the word holism became most closely associated with Smuts' first conception of the term, yet without any metaphysical commitments to monism , dualism , or similar concepts which can be inferred from his work. The advent of holism in the 20th century coincided with the gradual development of quantum mechanics . Holism in physics is the nonseparability of physical systems from their parts, especially quantum phenomena. Classical physics cannot be regarded as holistic, as

7373-542: The meaning of words plays an inferential role in the meaning of other words: "pet fish" might infer a meaning of "less than 3 ounces." Since holistic views of meaning assume meaning depends on which words are used and how those words infer meaning onto other words, rather than how they are structured, meaning holism stands in conflict with compositionalism and leaves statements with potentially ambiguous meanings. The second criticism claims that meaning holism makes meaning in language unstable. If some words must be used to infer

7474-466: The microscopic constituents, but which are in no sense logically dependent on it.” This perspective is considered a conventional attitude among contemporary physicists. In another sense, holism is a metaphysical claim that the nature of a system is not determined by the properties of its component parts. There are three varieties of this sense of physical holism. The metaphysical claim does not assert that physical systems involve abstract properties beyond

7575-527: The most important ontological dispute about abstract objects has been the problem of universals . In epistemology , abstract objects are considered problematic for empiricism . If abstracta lack causal powers and spatial location, how do we know about them? It is hard to say how they can affect our sensory experiences, and yet we seem to agree on a wide range of claims about them. Some, such as Ernst Mally , Edward Zalta and arguably, Plato in his Theory of Forms , have held that abstract objects constitute

7676-564: The office until the South African Party's defeat at the 1924 general election by J. B. M. Hertzog 's National Party . He spent several years in academia, during which he coined the term " holism ", before eventually re-entering politics as deputy prime minister in a coalition with Hertzog; in 1934 their parties subsequently merged to form the United Party . Smuts returned as prime minister in 1939, leading South Africa into

7777-485: The over-adherence to the platonist duality of the concrete and the abstract has led to a large category of social objects having been overlooked or rejected as nonexistent because they exhibit characteristics that the traditional duality between concrete and abstract regards as incompatible. Specifically, the ability to have temporal location, but not spatial location, and have causal agency (if only by acting through representatives). These characteristics are exhibited by

7878-745: The physical versus the mental realm (or the mental-and-physical realm versus neither). Another view is that it is the distinction between contingent existence versus necessary existence; however, philosophers differ on which type of existence here defines abstractness, as opposed to concreteness. Despite this diversity of views, there is broad agreement concerning most objects as to whether they are abstract or concrete, such that most interpretations agree, for example, that rocks are concrete objects while numbers are abstract objects. Abstract objects are most commonly used in philosophy , particularly metaphysics, and semantics . They are sometimes called abstracta in contrast to concreta . The term abstract object

7979-1133: The properties of those particles guiding their trajectories. Bohm's ontological holism concerning the nature of whole physical systems was literal. But Niels Bohr (1885-1962), on the other hand, held ontological holism from an epistemological angle, rather than a literal one. Bohr saw an observational apparatus to be a part of a system under observation, besides the basic physical parts themselves. His theory agrees with Bohm that whole systems were not merely composed of their parts and it identifies properties such as position and momentum as those of whole systems beyond those of its components. But Bohr states that these holistic properties are only meaningful in experimental contexts when physical systems are under observation and that these systems, when not under observation, cannot be said to have meaningful properties, even if these properties took place outside our observation. While Bohr claims these holistic properties exist only insofar as they can be observed, Bohm took his ontological holism one step further by claiming these properties must exist regardless . Semantic holism suggests that

8080-475: The proposed terms of surrender. Smuts then took a leading role in the negotiations between the representatives from all of the commandos from the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (15–31 May 1902). Although he admitted that, from a purely military perspective, the war could continue, he stressed the importance of not sacrificing the Afrikaner people for that independence. He was very conscious that "more than 20,000 women and children have already died in

8181-483: The showman Botha, Smuts won a comfortable victory in the Wonderboom constituency, near Pretoria. His victory was one of many, with Het Volk winning in a landslide and Botha forming the government. To reward his loyalty and efforts, Smuts was given two key cabinet positions: Colonial Secretary and Education Secretary. Smuts proved to be an effective leader, if unpopular. As Education Secretary, he had fights with

8282-400: The situation personally. Facing down threats to their own lives, they negotiated a cease-fire. But the cease-fire did not hold, and in 1914, a railway strike turned into a general strike . Threats of a revolution caused Smuts to declare martial law . He acted ruthlessly, deporting union leaders without trial and using Parliament to absolve him and the government of any blame retroactively. That

8383-421: The universe explains its processes and their evolution more effectively than a reductive view. Professional philosophers of science and linguistics did not consider Holism and Evolution seriously upon its initial publication in 1926 and the work has received criticism for a lack of theoretical coherence. Some biological scientists, however, did offer favorable assessments shortly after its first print. Over time,

8484-544: The universe. Smuts perceived evolution as the process of nature correcting itself creatively and intentionally. In this way, holism is described as the tendency of a whole system to creatively respond to environmental stressors, a process in which parts naturally work together to bring the whole into more advanced states. Smuts used Pavlovian studies to argue that the inheritance of behavioral changes supports his idea of creative evolution as opposed to purely accidental development in nature. Smuts believed that this creative process

8585-504: Was a keen mountaineer and supporter of mountaineering. One of his favourite rambles was up Table Mountain along a route now known as Smuts' Track. In February 1923 he unveiled a memorial to members of the Mountain Club who had been killed in the First World War. Abstract and concrete In philosophy and the arts , a fundamental distinction is between things that are abstract and things that are concrete . While there

8686-487: Was an internationalist who played a key role in establishing and defining the League of Nations, United Nations and Commonwealth of Nations . He supported racial segregation and opposed democratic non-racial rule . At the end of his career, Smuts supported the Fagan Commission 's recommendations to relax restrictions on black South Africans living and working in urban areas. Smuts was born on 24 May 1870, at

8787-469: Was born, and the Afrikaners held the key to political power, as the majority of the increasingly whites-only electorate. Although Botha was appointed prime minister of the new country, Smuts was given three key ministries: Interior, Mines, and Defence. Undeniably, Smuts was the second most powerful man in South Africa. To solidify their dominance of South African politics, the Afrikaners united to form

8888-575: Was elected leader, and Smuts his deputy. When his term of office expired, Milner was replaced as High Commissioner by the more conciliatory Lord Selborne . Smuts saw an opportunity and pounced, urging Botha to persuade the Liberals to support Het Volk's cause. When the Conservative government under Arthur Balfour collapsed, in December 1905, the decision paid off. Smuts joined Botha in London, and sought to negotiate full self-government for

8989-600: Was in the wake of issues around the neutral zone the Entente dictated in the Vix Note . Smuts arrived on 4 April 1919, and negotiations started the next day. He offered a neutral zone more favorable to Hungary (shifted 25 km east), though making sure its western border passes west of the final border proposal worked in the Commission on Romanian and Yugoslav Affairs, that the Hungarian leaders were unaware of. Smuts reassured

9090-415: Was intrinsic within all physical systems of parts and ruled out indirect, transcendent forces . Finally, Smuts used holism to explain the concrete (nontranscendent) nature of the universe in general. In his words, holism is "the ultimate synthetic, ordering, organizing, regulative activity in the universe which accounts for all the structural groupings and syntheses in it." Smuts argued that a holistic view of

9191-505: Was invalided back to England shortly thereafter. Early in 1917, Smuts left Africa and went to London, as he had been invited to join the Imperial War Cabinet and the War Policy Committee by David Lloyd George . Smuts initially recommended renewed Western Front attacks and a policy of attrition, lest with Russian commitment to the war wavering, France or Italy would be tempted to make a separate peace. Lloyd George wanted

9292-586: Was involved in a number of controversies. The first was the Rand Revolt of March 1921, where aeroplanes were used to bomb white miners who were striking in opposition to proposals to allow non-whites to do more skilled and semi-skilled work previously reserved to whites only. Smuts was accused of siding with the Rand Lords who wanted the removal of the colour bar in the hope that it would lower wage costs. The white miners perpetrated acts of violence across

9393-432: Was no merit in any further advance. He worked with Smuts to draw up plans, using three reinforcement divisions from Mesopotamia , to reach Haifa by June and Damascus by the autumn, the speed of the advance limited by the need to lay fresh rail track. This was the foundation of Allenby's successful offensive later in the year. Like most British Empire political and military leaders in the First World War, Smuts thought

9494-708: Was shaken by Third Ypres . In 1917, following the German Gotha Raids , and lobbying by Viscount French , Smuts wrote a review of the British Air Services, which came to be called the Smuts Report. He was helped in large part in this by General Sir David Henderson who was seconded to him. This report led to the treatment of air as a separate force, which eventually became the Royal Air Force . By mid-January 1918, Lloyd George

9595-684: Was tarnished. Ruth First, a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar, describes the Bondelswarts shooting as "the Sharpeville of the 1920s". As a botanist, Smuts collected plants extensively over southern Africa. He went on several botanical expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s with John Hutchinson , former botanist-in-charge of the African section of the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens and taxonomist of note. Smuts

9696-481: Was the Bulhoek Massacre of 24 May 1921, when at Bulhoek in the eastern Cape eight hundred South African policemen and soldiers armed with maxim machine guns and two field artillery guns killed 163 and wounded 129 members of an indigenous religious sect known as "Israelites" who had been armed with knobkerries, assegais and swords and who had refused to vacate land they regarded as holy to them. Casualties on

9797-589: Was too much for the Old Boers, who set up their own National Party to fight the all-powerful Botha-Smuts partnership. During the First World War , Smuts formed the Union Defence Force (UDF). His first task was to suppress the Maritz Rebellion , which was accomplished by November 1914. Next he and Louis Botha led the South African army into German South-West Africa and conquered it (see

9898-647: Was toying with the idea of appointing Smuts Commander-in-Chief of all land and sea forces facing the Ottoman Empire , reporting directly to the War Cabinet rather than to Robertson. Early in 1918, Smuts was sent to Egypt to confer with Allenby and Marshall , and prepare for major efforts in that theatre. Before his departure, alienated by Robertson's exaggerated estimates of the required reinforcements, he urged Robertson's removal. Allenby told Smuts of Robertson's private instructions (sent by hand of Walter Kirke , appointed by Robertson as Smuts's adviser) that there

9999-486: Was translated by H. Minkowski and eventually published in 1938. During the Second World War, the books were destroyed after the Nazi government had removed it from circulation. Adler and Smuts, however, continued their correspondence. In one of Adler’s letters dated 14 June 1931, he invited Smuts to be one of three judges of the best book on the history of wholeness with a reference to Individual Psychology. On 11 October 1899

10100-433: Was twelve, his elder brother died, and Jan was sent to school in his place. Jan attended the school in nearby Riebeek West . He made excellent progress despite his late start, and caught up with his contemporaries within four years. He was admitted to Victoria College , Stellenbosch , in 1886, at the age of sixteen. At Stellenbosch, he learned High Dutch , German , and Ancient Greek , and immersed himself in literature,

10201-424: Was up against a hard-talking Orange River Colony delegation, who refused every one of Smuts's demands. Smuts had successfully predicted this opposition, and their objections, and tailored his own ambitions appropriately. He allowed compromise on the location of the capital, on the official language, and on suffrage, but he refused to budge on the fundamental structure of government. As the convention drew into autumn,

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