‘Wholing’ Health

Simple systems thinking examines phenomena as if in a closed box, with independent variables that behave in a unilinear, unidirectional, and predictable manner. However, such an approach can neither approximate nor fully explain natural and social processes. Whereas complex adaptive systems, which are open, multidirectional, and can account for the emergence of new variables are a far more accurate approximation of the behaviour of phenomena in nature and human societies. Approaching interventions as complex adaptive systems can help engineers better understand the entirety (or whole) of the factors involved in any intervention and thereby plan more successful interventions with fewer unintended and deleterious outcomes. This chapter explores the importance of wholism and its applications as viewed through a lens of health.