Holism and Complexity in Organizations: an Unavoidable Binomial

Abstract

Since ancient times, when the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, pointed out that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” there have been many areas in which this maximum has had influence. The 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics, as well as the development of science and philosophy in the twentieth century, Systems Theory, Critical Theory, the Gestalt School, and the paradigm of complexity proposed by the philosopher, Edgar Morin, have all, in some way, been generating a new holistic organizational vision. Considering that economic, social and cultural processes are highly complex, they must not be perceived from a single perspective. This article aims to make a superficial analysis of holism and complexity in order to determine its impact on organizations.