2021/08/06

Holism and Evolution - Wikipedia

Holism and Evolution - Wikipedia

Holism and Evolution

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Holism and Evolution
Book Title Page of Holism and Evolution 1926 Jan Smuts.png
AuthorJan Smuts
CountrySouth Africa
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPhilosophy
PublisherMacmillan Inc.
Publication date
1926

Holism and Evolution is a 1926 book by South African statesman Jan Smuts, in which he coined the word "holism",[1][2] although Smuts' meaning differs from the modern concept of holism.[3] Smuts defined holism as the "fundamental factor operative towards the creation of wholes in the universe."[4]

Smuts in 1947

The book was part of a broader trend of interest in holism in European and colonial academia during the early twentieth century.[1] Smuts based his philosophy of holism on the thoughts behind his earlier book, Walt Whitman: A Study in the Evolution of Personality, written during his time at Cambridge in the early 1890s.[5][6] The book describes a "process-orientated, hierarchical view of nature" and has been influential among criticisms of reductionism.[3] Smuts' formulation of holism has also been linked with his political-military activity, especially his aspiration to create a league of nations: "the unification of the four provinces in the Union of South Africa, the idea of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and, finally, the great whole resulting from the combination of the peoples of the earth were just a logical progression consistent with his philosophical tenets."[7]

Synopsis of Holism and Evolution[edit source]

After identifying the need for reform in the fundamental concepts of matter, life, and mind (chapter 1), Smuts examines the reformed concepts (as of 1926) of space and time (chapter 2), matter (chapter 3), and biology (chapter 4), and concludes that the close approach to each other of the concepts of matter, life, and mind, and the partial overflow of each other's domains, imply that there is a fundamental principle (Holism) of which they are the progressive outcome.[8]:86 Chapters 5 and 6 provide the general concept, functions, and categories of holism; chapters 7 and 8 address holism with respect to Mechanism and Darwinism; chapters 9-11 make a start towards demonstrating the concepts and functions of holism for the metaphysical categories (mind, personality, ideals), and the book concludes with a chapter that argues for the universal ubiquity of holism and its place as a monistic ontology.

Structure[edit source]

Wholes are composites which have an internal structure, function, or character, which clearly differentiate them from mechanical additions, aggregates, and constructions, such as science assumes on the mechanical hypothesis.[8]:106 The concept of structure is not confined to the physical domain (e.g. chemical, biological and artifacts); it also applies to the metaphysical domain (e.g. mental structures, properties, attributes, values, ideals, etc.)[8]:161

Field[edit source]

The field of a whole is not something different and additional to it, it is the continuation of the whole beyond its sensible contours of experience.[8]:113 The field characterizes a whole as a unified and synthesized event in the system of relativity that includes not only its present but also its past—and also its future potentialities.[8]:89 As such, the concept of field entails both activity and structure.[8]:115

Variation[edit source]

Darwin's theory of organic descent placed primary emphasis on the role of natural selection, but there would be nothing to select if not for variation. Variations that are the result of mutations in the biological sense and variations that are the result of individually acquired modifications in the personal sense are attributed by Smuts to holism; further, it was his opinion that because variations appear in complexes and not singly, evolution is more than the outcome of individual selections; it is holistic.[8]:190–192

Regulation[edit source]

The whole exhibits a discernible regulatory function as it relates to cooperation and coordination of the structure and activity of parts, and to the selection and deselection of variations. The result is a balanced correlation of organs and functions. The activities of the parts are directed to central ends: co-operation and unified action instead of the separate mechanical activities of the parts.[8]:125

Creativity[edit source]

It is the intermingling of fields which is creative or causal in nature. This is seen in matter, where if not for its dynamic structural creative character, matter could not have been the mother of the universe. This function, or factor of creativity, is even more marked in biology, where the protoplasm of the cell is vitally active in an ongoing process of creative change where parts are continually being destroyed and replaced by new protoplasm. With minds, the regulatory function of holism acquires consciousness and freedom, demonstrating a creative power of the most far-reaching character. Holism is not only creative but self-creative, and its final structures are far more holistic than its initial structures.[8]:18, 37, 67–68, 88–89

Causality[edit source]

As relates to causality, Smuts makes reference to A. N. Whitehead, and indirectly Baruch Spinoza; the Whitehead premise is that organic mechanism is a fundamental process which realizes and actualizes individual syntheses or unities. Holism (the factor) exemplifies this same idea while emphasizing the holistic character of the process. The whole completely transforms the concept of causality: results are not directly a function of causes. The whole absorbs and integrates the cause into its own activity: results appear as the consequence of the activity of the whole.[8]:121–124,126

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts[edit source]

The fundamental holistic characters as a unity of parts which is so close and intense as to be more than the sum of its parts; which not only gives a particular conformation or structure to the parts, but so relates and determines them in their synthesis that their functions are altered; the synthesis affects and determines the parts, so that they function towards the whole; and the whole and the parts, therefore reciprocally influence and determine each other, and appear more or less to merge their individual characters: the whole is in the parts and the parts are in the whole, and this synthesis of whole and parts is reflected in the holistic character of the functions of the parts as well as of the whole.[8]:88

Progressive grading of wholes[edit source]

Smuts suggests "rough and provisional" summary of the progressive grading of wholes that comprise holism is as follows:[8]:109

  1. Material structure, e.g. a chemical compound
  2. Functional structure in living bodies
  3. Animals, which exhibit a degree of central control that is primarily implicit and unconscious
  4. Personality, characterized as conscious central control
  5. States and similar group organizations characterized by central control that involve many people
  6. Holistic Ideals, or absolute Values, distinct from human personality, that are creative factors in the creation of a spiritual world, for example Truth, Beauty and Goodness.

References[edit source]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b Ton Otto; Nils Bubandt (2 August 2011). Experiments in Holism: Theory and Practice in Contemporary Anthropology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-4443-5185-9.
  2. ^ Freeman J (2005). "Towards a definition of holism". Br J Gen Pract. 55 (511): 154–5. PMC 1463203. PMID 15720949.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b Poynton, J.C. (1987). "Smuts's Holism and Evolution sixty years on". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 46 (3): 181–189. doi:10.1080/00359198709520121.
  4. ^ J.C. Smuts (1927). Holism and evolution. Рипол Классик. ISBN 978-5-87111-227-4.
  5. ^ Jan C Smuts: Walt Whitman – a Study in the Evolution of Personality, Wayne State University Press 1973
  6. ^ Hancock – Smuts: 1. The Sanguine Years, 1870–1919, p. 28
  7. ^ Crafford, F.S. (1943). Jan Smuts: A Biography. Kessinger Publishing. p. 140. ISBN 1-4179-9290-5.
  8. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l Smuts, Jan Christiaan (1927). Holism and Evolution 2nd Edition. Macmillan and Co.
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Backhouse & Walker - Quaker Missionaries

Backhouse & Walker - Quaker Missionaries

BACKHOUSE & WALKER - QUAKER MISSIONARIES
[James Backhouse]
[George Washington Walker]

James Backhouse and George Washington Walker sailed from St. Katherine's Dock in London, England on 3 September 1831 bound for Australia. Also aboard the 236 ton barque "Science" headed to Hobart, Van Diemen's Land were a group of over forty Chelsea Pensioners who had commuted their pensions for an advance of 4 years' payment. Thus began a six year mission to Australia for these two Friends followed by a two year mission to Mauritius and South Africa. Though they were accredited by the Society of Friends in England their journey was self-funded. In Australia, in addition to their missionary work, they prepared numerous reports for the Government on the conditions of convicts, aborigines, etc.

A chronology of their brief visit to Port Phillip is as follows:-

3 November 1837 - Departed Hobart, V.D.L. on the 208 ton barque "Eudora" en route to King Georges Sound via Port Phillip and South Australia. Near Preservation Island in Bass Strait a visitor came aboard the "Eudora" from another vessel. He was a seafaring man whose profane language greatly pained Backhouse. Not having an opportunity to speak with him privately, Backhouse slipped a note into his hand together with two tracts, "A Christian Memento" and "Thoughts on the Importance of Religion." The note said "Permit a stranger to commend to thy notice, the enclosed tracts, under the feeling that thy soul is precious in the sight of God, and that it ought to be precious in thy own sight, and that the days for securing its salvation are fast hastening away." He later met this man on shore and received his grateful acknowledgement for this action.

10 November 1837 - Arrived at Port Phillip and anchored at Gellibrands Point. Stayed on board while the Captain and a Customs Officer went up to Melbourne.

11 November 1837 - Walked along a sandy bush track to the Yarra River. Crossed to Melbourne by ferry where they met George Langhorne. Joined his party in a boat, travelling 2 miles up the Yarra to the Mission Station. Dined with George and Mary Langhorne. Then went 4 miles further up the Yarra to the dwelling of John and Mary Gardiner where they stayed the night.

12 November 1837 - Met with John Gardiner's staff in the morning. Returned to the Mission Station in the afternoon. Then went back to John Gardiner's property for the night.

13 November 1837 - Returned to Melbourne by boat. Met a number of acquaintances from Van Diemens Land and New South Wales. Took tea with a family of Wesleyans with whom they had been acquainted in Sydney, N.S.W. Attended a meeting of about 40 residents in the School House which was being used by all denominations as a Church. Returned to Langhorne's Mission Station for the night.

14 November 1837 - In the afternoon they made a trip down the Yarra in a boat to the "Eudora" to collect some tracts. Returned to Melbourne where they attended a meeting for the establishment of a Temperance Society as a branch to the one in Sydney, N.S.W.

15 November 1837 - Visited John Batman. James Backhouse later wrote: "We called on John Batman, formerly of Buffalo Plains, in Van Diemens Land, who has been much of an invalid since his removal to Port Phillip. He continues to feel a deep interest respecting the Aborigines of these Colonies, and has now, in his employment, several Blacks from the vicinity of Sydney, and a woman and two boys from Tasmania, whom he finds useful servants. They are not disposed to indulge in wandering habits, now that they are removed from their native haunts. This may probably arise, from the fear they entertain of the tribes by which they are here surrounded. J. Batman showed us the skull of a Native, found near Gellibrands Point, which was perforated with slugs, and had some of the lead lodged in the bone, evidently proving, that the individual to whom it had belonged, had been shot. Though from its appearance, when picked up, the murderous deed did not seem to have been perpetrated above six months, yet, he said, no inquiry had been instituted, as to how the party had come by his death."

Backhouse and Walker then headed off in the direction of Geelong, hoping to catch up with their friend, David Stead. However, after walking about three miles, they returned to Melbourne. That evening they dined with Captain William Lonsdale, the Police Magistrate. Spoke with him about the importance of holding inquests into the deaths of Aborigines who may have died under violent or suspicious circumstances. Returned to the Mission Station where they viewed the Aurora Australis, which appeared in the sky very brilliant, in columns of yellow, on a diffuse, pale crimson background.

16 November 1837 - Leaving the Mission Station, Backhouse walked through the bush to the beach and tried unsuccessfully to establish contact with the "Eudora" which was about 2 miles from the shore. The pre-arranged signal of lighting two fires on the sand was hampered by strong winds and no response was received. He then returned to join Walker in Melbourne where they distributed books and tracts. They then returned to the beach but were still unable to make contact with the "Eudora." At sunset they went back to Melbourne and spent the evening with John Batman who presented them with some oval baskets manufactured by local natives. These were said to be stronger and more robust than ones they had previously seen. They also noted that John Batman had some locally caught Emus.

17 November 1837 - Returned to the "Eudora" but because of the sea breeze were unable to set sail.

18 November 1837 - Set sail early and cleared Gellibrands Point. That evening they dropped anchor in a bay a little to the north of Arthurs Seat. Mention was made at this time of about thirty dogs that had been taken aboard the "Eudora" at Hobart for sale in India.

19 November 1837 - Passed out of Port Phillip Bay through the Heads en route to South Australia. From there they went on to spend time in Western Australia and Mauritius before landing in South Africa.

James Backhouse was born on 8 July 1794 at Darlington, County Durham, England, the son of James Backhouse and his wife Mary, nee Dearman. In 1816 he went into partnership with his elder brother, Thomas Backhouse, in a Nursery business in York, Yorkshire, England. He married on 5 November 1822 at the Friends' Meeting House, Tottenham, Middlesex, England, to Deborah Lowe, daughter of Richard Lowe of Worcester, England. His wife died on 10 December 1827 at York aged 34 years. Leaving his son James and daughter Elizabeth with relatives, he joined up with George Washington Walker to sail for Hobart, Van Diemens Land in the early 1830's. Returned to England from South Africa in 1841. Was also well known as a botanist and an author and he made frequent mention of the flora and fauna he observed in his writings. In later years he made extended missionary journeys to Norway and Lapland. He died on 20 January 1869 at his residence, Holgate House, York, Yorkshire, England.

George Washington Walker was born on 19 March 1800 at London, England, the son of John Walker, saddler, and his second wife Elizabeth, nee Ridley. Served an apprenticeship to a linen draper named Hadwen Bragg. Sailed from England in 1831 with James Backhouse for Van Diemen's Land. Later returned to Van Diemen's Land and married on 15 December 1840 at the Friends' Meeting House, Hobart, V.D.L. to Sarah Benson Mather, daughter of Robert Mather. Opened a linen drapery. Distributed religious literature and was a Temperance worker. A Founder and sometime Manager of the Hobart Town Savings Bank. Died on 1 February 1859 at his residence at the Savings Bank, Macquarie Street, Hobart, Tasmania, and was buried on 4 February 1859 at the Friend's Burial Ground, Providence Valley, West Hobart, Tasmania.

On his return to England in 1841, James Backhouse wrote accounts of his missionary travels. These were published as "A Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies" (London, 1843) and "A Narrative of a Visit to the Mauritius and South Africa" (London, 1844). Following the death of George Washington Walker in 1859, he co-authored with Charles Tylor "The Life and Labours of George Washington Walker of Hobart Town, Tasmania" (London & York, 1862). Individual articles about James Backhouse and George Washington Walker, written by Mary Bartram Trott, appear in the "Australian Dictionary of Biography."

Source of Images: State Library of Victoria (Backhouse); University of Tasmania (Walker)

( Contributed by Alexander Romanov-Hughes - PPPG Member No. 52 )
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Biography - James Backhouse - Australian Dictionary of Biography

Biography - James Backhouse - Australian Dictionary of Biography

Backhouse, James (1794–1869)

by Mary Bartram Trott

This article was published:

James Backhouse (1794-1869), naturalist and Quaker missionary, was born on 8 July 1794, the fourth child of James and Mary Backhouse, members of a well-known Quaker business family of Darlington, Durham, England. He was educated in a school kept by a Friend at Leeds, then apprenticed to a chemist in Darlington where he developed tuberculosis. Regaining health with outdoor work, he trained for two years in a Norwich nursery, where the sight of Australian plants and association with Friends interested in prison reform and transportation contributed to his concern to visit the convict colonies. In 1816, with his brother, he bought a nursery in York, and in 1822 married Deborah Lowe who died five years later. Growing activity in schools for the poor, temperance and Bible societies, prison visiting and the Quaker ministry roused his interest in similar service abroad. He left his business and two children with relations and in September 1831, with the financial support of the London Yearly Meeting, sailed for Australia with George Washington Walker.

From their arrival at Hobart Town in February 1832 until their departure from Fremantle in February 1838, they visited from house to house in most of the scattered Australian settlements and found much demand for their services. During their three years in Van Diemen's Land (1832-34) Lieutenant-Governor (Sir) George Arthur found many useful tasks for them. His ready co-operation and disregard of red tape contrasted with that of the naval authorities in London who had refused their proffered services in a Sydney-bound convict transport because they lacked official status. In later voyages in convict ships in Australian waters Backhouse's medical knowledge helped the sick and wounded. Arthur granted the missionaries free access to all penal and Aboriginal establishments, encouraged their investigations and urged them to suggest improvements. They gave Arthur eight valuable reports on the penal settlements of Macquarie Harbour and Port Arthur, the Aboriginal establishment on Flinders Island, the conditions of road-gangs, chain-gangs, assigned servants and their masters, and the Van Diemen's Land Co., with the result that some newspapers labelled them government spies.

In New South Wales and its dependencies Governor Sir Richard Bourke encouraged similar work in 1835-37, and in three reports to him they described the penal settlements of Norfolk Island, Moreton Bay and Port Macquarie, and the Aboriginal station in Wellington Valley. Their reports were sent to London Friends and to the Colonial Office and used by reformers of prisons and Aboriginal settlements. They were the basis of the help the two Quakers gave on their return visit to Van Diemen's Land in 1837 to Alexander Maconochie in formulating his new penal system. Throughout these arduous journeys Backhouse also collected a valuable herbarium which he sent to Kew Gardens. In recognition of his contribution to the knowledge of Australian vegetation, particularly of inland species, the genus of a myrtaceous shrub was named Backhousia.

At large public meetings the Quakers urged the formation of non-sectarian British charities which included the Temperance, Religious Tract, British and Foreign Bible, and British and Foreign School Societies. They distributed many tracts, Bibles and the non-denominational text books of the School Society. Many schools in the colonies followed its curriculum and it became the official system in the early public education of some colonies. They encouraged savings banks, benevolent societies, and ladies' committees for prison visiting on Elizabeth Fry's model. They inspected hospitals and recommended humane treatment for the insane and asylums like the Quakers' York Retreat. In Sydney they gathered a group for Quaker worship. In 1833 in Hobart they established a Monthly Meeting, next year the Van Diemen's Land Yearly Meeting, and in 1837 bought a meeting house property, which was used for 120 years.

Leaving Hobart in November 1837 they visited Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, in each place promoting temperance and Aboriginal protection committees. During a three-month stay at Mauritius they encouraged Protestant philanthropy. Arriving in Cape Town in June 1838, they equipped a covered wagon and penetrated the interior of the colony in a journey of 6000 miles (9656 km). In an ecumenical spirit they visited eighty mission stations and learnt the colonial Dutch language in the hope of reconciling the far-trekked Boers, who were so resentful of being compelled to release their slaves. In Cape Town they established a multi-racial school for the poor, which lasted forty years. They made reports to the governor and to members at Westminster on the treatment of the native Africans.

After Walker left for Hobart Backhouse returned in 1841 to York, where he kept in touch with the colonies, corresponded with the Royal Society of Tasmania, advised the young Quaker meetings, sent agricultural equipment and books to the Africans, and raised money for Moffat's Sechwaña translation of the Bible. With his son James, also a gifted naturalist, he continued his nursery business, travelled extensively in England on botanical excursions, and three times visited Norway under religious concern. He recorded his journeys in A Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies (London, 1843) and A Narrative of a Visit to the Mauritius and South Africa (London, 1844). Later with Charles Tylor he wrote The Life and Labours of George Washington Walker (London, 1862). He also produced numerous religious tracts and lives of Quakers, including those of Deborah Backhouse, Thomas Bulman, Francis Howgill and William and Alice Ellis. He gave Kew two manuscript volumes of botanical recollections in Australia. The most widely read of his works was a paper-back pamphlet of extracts from his letters from Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales, compiled by the London Yearly Meeting. Because of its little-known subject this went into many editions. His larger works with the ponderous style of the period belie the sense of humour and straightforward simplicity for which he was so well known and liked, but they have provided valuable material on Australian Aboriginals and convict conditions, and the South African volume is reputed to have introduced many missionaries to Africa. Backhouse died on 20 January 1869 in York.

His genial good nature, and shrewd common sense, remained agreeable memories to his hosts. A strict Quaker with peculiar plainness of dress, address and profession, he had a broad tolerance and ability to befriend and mix with everyone from domineering governors to confused Aboriginals. With an understanding freed from pretensions and outward signs, he saw with a scientist's precision the inner core of real religion in heathen Hottentot, Australian Aboriginal and colonial convict.

Select Bibliography

  • S. Backhouse, Memoir of James Backhouse (Lond, 1870)
  • W. Robinson (ed), Friends of a Half Century (Lond, 1891)
  • J. D. Hooker, The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H. M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843, parts 5-6 (London, 1860)
  • James Backhouse, journals and letters (Friends House, London)
  • James Backhouse records (State Library of New South Wales)
  • Walker papers (University of Tasmania, and State Library of New South Wales).

Related Entries in NCB Sites

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