The ultimate criterion of the value of a functional whole is the degree of its internal harmony or integratedness, whether the ‘functional whole’ is a biological species or a civilization or an individual. A whole is defined by the pattern of relations between its parts, not by the sum of its parts; and a civilization is not defined by the sum of its science, technology, art, and social organization, but by the total pattern which they form, and the degree of harmonious integration in that pattern.
