there are indeed three "HOLISM'''S, but each one of them is composed
out of smaller copies of the word ·'REDUCTIONISM". And in complemen-
tary fashion, in the right-hand piece, there is indeed one "REDUC-
TIONISM", but it is composed out of smaller copies of the word "HOLISM".
Now this is all fine and good, but in your silly squabble, the two of you
have actually missed the forest for the trees. You see, what good is it to
argue about whether "HOLISM" or "REDUCTIONISM" is right, when the
proper way to understand the matter is to transcend the question, by
answering "MU"?
Crab: I now see the picture as you have described it, Achilles, but I have
no idea of what you mean by the strange expression "transcending the
question".
Anteater: I now see the picture as you have described it, Achilles, but I
have no idea of what you mean by the strange expression "MU".
Achilles: I will be glad to indulge both of you, if you will first oblige me, by
telling me the meaning of thes.e strange expressions, "HOLISM" and
"REDUCTIONISM".
Crab: HOLISM is the most natural thing in the world to grasp. It's simply the
belief that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". No one in
his right mind could reject holism.
Anteater: REDUCTIONISM is the most natural thing in the world to grasp. It's
simply the belief that "a whole can be understood completely if you
understand its parts, and the nature of their 'sum"'. No one in her
left brain could reject reductionism.
Crab: I reject reductionism. I challenge you to tell me, for instance, how to
understand a brain reductionistically. Any reductionistic explanation
of a brain will inevitably fall far short of explaining where the con-
sciousness experienced by a brain arises from.
Anteater: I reject holism. I challenge you to tell me, for instance, how a
holistic description of an ant colony sheds any more light on it than is
shed by a description of the ants inside it, and their roles, and their
interrelationships. Any holistic explanation of an ant colony will inevi-
tably fall far short of explaining where the consciousness experienced
by an ant colony arises from.
Achilles: Oh, no! The last thing which I wanted to do was to provoke
another argument. Anyway, now that I understand the controversy, I
believe that my explanation of "MU" will help greatly. You see, "MU" is
an ancient Zen answer which, when given to a question, UNASKS the
question. Here, the question seems to be, "Should the world be under-
stood via holism, or via reductionism?" And the answer of "MU" here
rejects the premises of the question, which are that one or the other
must be chosen. By unasking the question, it reveals a wider truth: that
there is a larger context into which both holistic and reductionistic
explanations fit.
Anteater: Absurd! Your "MU" is as silly as a cow's moo. I'll have none of this
Zen wishy-washiness.
(^312) ... Ant Fugue