Holism and Evolution - Softcover

Smuts, Jan Christiaan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0939266261 ISBN 13: 9780939266265

Publisher: Gestalt Journal Press, 2013

Synopsis

Jan Christiaan Smuts was Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and again from 1939 until 1948. He served in the First World War and as a British field marshal in the Second World War. A preeminent philosopher of his time, he pioneered the concept of holism, defined as "the tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution.” Smuts' formulation of holism has been linked with his political-military activity, especially his aspiration to create a league of nations. After Albert Einstein studied HOLISM AND EVOLUTION, he wrote that two mental constructs will direct human thinking in the next millennium, his own mental construct of relativity and Smuts' of holism. In the work of Smuts he saw a clear blueprint of much of his own life, work and personality. Smuts was an early influence on the thinking of the developer of Gestalt therapy, Frederick Perls during Perls’s stay in South Africa. Frederick Perls wrote of HOLISM AND EVOLUTION: "Our (South Africa's) Prime Minister, has the answer: ecology. Organism-as-a-whole — embedded-in-environment. This becomes the Unit. The objective-subjective identity is born." This Gestalt Journal Press edition is an exact reproduction of the original Macmillan and Company 1926 edition.

About this title

About the Author:

uts /f Jan /i Christiaan

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Introduction.

This is one of the true classics. The holistic approach to life has had such a far-reaching impact in the world that most people assume it grew out of some Far Eastern practice. In fact, the word holistic and its natural approach to life was created in this book in 1926.

To be sure, the remarkable popularity of holistic health and the natural life can be traced largely to the sympathetic chord they've struck with millions of people seeking a more balanced life. But this didn't happen by accident. As you will see, the holistic approach to life is so deeply in tune with everything that happens in the world around us, it naturally stirs something profound and satisfying within us.

This doesn't happen simply because people like holistic concepts. It's because the concepts are so much in step with the world that they're amazingly successful... Successful helping people heal themselves faster and better than by other means. Successful helping people bombarded with troubles to find peacefulness amid a beautiful and compelling view of the world. Successful helping people shift from fighting the world around them to embracing it and harnessing its normal ebb and flow so that it carries them where they want to go.

Originally looked upon with great skepticism in the Western world, holistic health has become so accepted today that a large number of traditional medical groups include chiropractors, acupuncturists and similar practitioners. Major health plans reimburse for those services. Natural herbs and vitamins overflow in traditional drugstores. Why? Because they work. People aching from the burden of soaring medical costs discovered they could become just as healthy from two dollars of herbs as they could from twenty dollars of prescription drugs.

Already, the groundswell of natural, holistic methods are flowing into many other parts of our lives, and will almost certainly become the surging trends of tomorrow.

To fully benefit from the holistic approach to life, you need to understand it from the ground up. This book is where you find it. The source. The place where it all started. The man who built this amazing foundation for understanding life takes you step-by-step through his world.

Fair warning, the trip is somewhat arduous, like a hike in the mountains. But the exertion is rewarded with exhilaration and breathtaking views.

The author of this work is no less remarkable than his uplifting concepts and inspiring ideas. Educated at Cambridge in England just before the year 1900, Jan Christiaan Smuts had an elegant turn of phrase and encyclopedic knowledge which seems to somehow belong to a more gracious age. Yet his life was anything but calm and gentle. Growing up in South Africa during the Boer War, he served a term as Prime Minister of his country. At leisure after public duty, he put pen to paper and wrote Holism and Evolution, pouring out the thoughts, dreams and experiences of a full and colorful life.

Yet his days on the world stage were not over. Re-elected as Prime Minister, he presided over a country struggling with a new concept called apartheid-the forced separation of blacks and whites. He opposed that policy and stood his ground under relentless attack. Forced from office, he retired once more to private life. No other South African Prime Minister would oppose apartheid until Nelson Mandela.

Here are the cornerstones of life, dreams, principle, strength, wholeness and a calm view of life which survives turbulence in the world around us and revels in the beauty of nature.

It's all here, complete and unabridged.

Like a lover of great art who carefully tends each priceless work which comes into his hands, I have been as gentle as possible with this classic treasure. Only the smallest touch has been given to selected words which have different meanings today or would otherwise divert the reader from this wonderful path through the wilderness.

There are actually several books here. One explores nature and the world immediately around us. One explores history and how we came to be where we are. Another explores science and looks at how the factual world co-exists with the world of natural beauty. Another explores the world of the human spirit, of love and longing.

All of these worlds are interwoven in the pages which follow. Like that arduous hike in the mountains, not all of us are in shape to enjoy it all on our first foray into the field. Many first-time readers peruse the summaries thoughtfully provided by the author at the beginning of each section. When they find the "world" which most arouses their interest, they plunge into the cool mountain waters and swim to whatever depth they like.

It's an incredible journey. You emerge fresher, stronger and maybe a little wiser than the day you first entered. May you enjoy this inspiring path, and all the days of your life.

--Sanford Holst

About this edition

• Publisher: Gestalt Journal Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0939266261
• ISBN 13: 9780939266265
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 370