holists

Noun

holist (plural holists)

1. A believer in, or practitioner of, holism; one who believes that a topic of study cannot be fully understood by studying the parts, or who studies by considering the whole.
   • The holists generally claimed that the variety of the clinical pictures was not intrinsic to aphasia, although it was recognized that aphasic patients differ in many respects, not only the severity of the language disorder.2003, Anna Basso, Aphasia and Its Therapy, page 21
2. One who advocates studying society as a whole, and who consistently interprets the actions of individuals in that context.
   • Holism is more eclectic in its methods; for most holists, rigor means reconstructing the meaning of an action in the subject's own terms, and interpreting it in light of a richly detailed cultural, social, and historical context.1991, Jack Snyder, “5: Science and Sovietology: Bridging the Methods Gap in Soviet Foreign Policy Studies”, in Erik P. Hoffmann, Robbin Frederick Laird, Frederic J. Fleron, editors, Soviet Foreign...
3. One who prefers to learn by forming an overview of the topic.
   • Those subjects using a serialist strategy tended to proceed in a step-by-step manner, whereas the holists adopted a more global approach to what was to be learned.2000, Francis M. Quinn, The Principles and Practice of Nurse Education, page 34

See all 4 meanings of holist