The word ‘health’ actually means wholeness, and ‘to heal’ is to re-
store wholeness. Health, heal, and wholeare derived from the Old English
hal ̄ , ‘whole,’ and ultimately descend from the Indo-European root mean-
ing whole: √kailo-.^53 Holism is a conceptual orientation that recognizes the
organic unity and interdependence of forces within an organism, among
organisms, and among forces at various levels within an environment.
... a holistic approach offers a conceptual alternative to the physio-
chemical reductionism, materialism, and mind/body dualism that dom-
inates much of contemporary medical thought.^54
Besides its ontological dimension, holism also pertains to function. Leon
R. Kass connects wholeness with well-working: wholeness as regards liv-
ing organisms is not static, but pertains to wholeness-in-action, the work-
ing well of the entity; thus the whole organism must be evaluated in order
to determine its well-working.^55 Kass’ interpretation of wholeness is more
satisfactory than interpretations that define wholeness statically. By re-
garding wholeness from the standpoint of well-working, the concept of
wholeness becomes more useful as a criterion of health. For instance, a
person who lacks the ability to hear can still attain to wholeness by virtue
of using means of communication that enable her to carry out projects of
importance to her.
In the psychological theory of Carl G. Jung, the journey toward
wholeness, which he called individuation, is a process involving the
bringing to consciousness of meanings previously repressed in the uncon-
scious. Psychological health in Jungian terms entails that one’s inner and
outer selves are integrated rather than fragmented.
As long as all goes well and psychic energy finds its application in ade-
quate and well-regulated ways, we are disturbed by nothing from within.... But no sooner are one or two of the channels of psychic activity
blocked, than we are reminded of a stream that is dammed up. The cur-
rent flows backward to its source; the inner man wants something which
the visible man does not want, and we are at war with ourselves.^56
Wholeness describes an ideal state, for life circumstances change con-
stantly and require new adjustments and responses. Further, our human
potential can never be fully achieved in our lifetimes and, in this respect,
achieving wholeness is impossible, because the possibilities for our devel-
opment are so rich.^57 Wholeness, then, like the concept of health itself, is a
conceptual rubric and regulative idea, that is—an action-guiding ideal.
Wholeness is a significant determinant of health, for it sets a standard for
judging the extent to which a person is fully acting and experiencing.
64 religious therapeutics