science

Janus: A Summing Up

Janus: A Summing Up is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Janus: A Summing Up rather than just read about it. In short: Janus: A Summing Up is a 1978 book by Arthur Koestler, in which the author develops his philosophical idea of the holarchy. First introduced in Koestler's 1967 book, The Ghost in the Machine, the holarchy provides a coherent way of organizing knowledge and nature all together.

Key takeaways

Janus: A Summing Up belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Janus: A Summing Up to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Janus: A Summing Up from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Janus: A Summing Up is a 1978 book by Arthur Koestler, in which the author develops his philosophical idea of the holarchy. First introduced in Koestler's 1967 book, The Ghost in the Machine, the holarchy provides a coherent way of organizing knowledge and nature all together.

The Holarchy The holarchy concept states that everything is composed of holons, which are simultaneously parts and wholes. Each holon is a constituent of a larger entity while also containing smaller holons within. Like Janus, each holon has two faces - one looking inward, representing the whole, and the other looking outward, representing the part. Koestler believed this organization exists in all healthy systems, including the human body, chemistry, and the history of philosophy. The concept of holon, however, is closely integrated in Janus with the theory of complex systems as was developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Herbert Simon, both well known investigators and friends of Koestler. Janus put together one of the first broad based arguments for incorporating the theory of complex systems into the philosophy of science and epistemology.

Editions Hutchinson, 1978, U.K, hardcover edition ISBN 0-09-132100-X Random House, 1978, U.S. hardcover edition ISBN 0-394-50052-0 Picador, 1979, or Pan Macmillan, 1983 UK paperback editions ISBN 0-330-25842-7 Vintage Books, 1979, U.S. paperback edition ISBN 0-394-72886-6

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Janus: A Summing Up

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Janus: A Summing Up claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Janus: A Summing Up before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Janus: A Summing Up ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Janus: A Summing Up

In research: Janus: A Summing Up appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Janus: A Summing Up in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Janus: A Summing Up is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1978 English-language non-fiction books, 1978 non-fiction books, Books by Arthur Koestler, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Janus: A Summing Up outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Janus: A Summing Up in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Janus: A Summing Up means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Janus: A Summing Up out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Janus: A Summing Up in simple terms?

Why does Janus: A Summing Up matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Janus: A Summing Up?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Janus: A Summing Up.