XII THE HOLISTIC UNIVERSE 339 



thing more to complete it, even in the preliminary way which 

 is all that is intended in this work. 



Two points arise from the preceding discussion which 

 naturally carry us forward to the consideration of these 

 larger questions. In the first place, where do we fix 

 the limits of a lesser whole? In a whole we have in- 

 cluded its field; but how far does this field extend? 

 What limits are there to the field of an inorganic body, 

 or an organism, or a Personality? Leibniz represented 

 each monad as containing or mirroring the whole universe in 

 its own way and from its own particular angle; lower 

 monads, of course, more imperfectly than higher monads; 

 but each in its own degree is a sort of microcosm or minia- 

 ture universe. In other words, each tiniest least monad is 

 in a sense cosmic and universal. This description would not 

 apply to a field. As we have seen, a field is of the same 

 character as the inner area of the whole, only more attenu- 

 ated in its force and influence, and the farther it recedes from 

 that area the greater the attenuation; so that the field, 

 though theoretically indefinite in extent, is in effect quite 

 limited in practical operation. When we come to consider 

 a group of wholes we see that, while the wholes may be 

 mutually exclusive, their fields overlap and penetrate and 

 reinforce each other, and thus create an entirely new situa- 

 tion. Thus we speak of the atmosphere of idea, the spirit of 

 a class, or the soul of a people. The social individuals as 

 such remain unaltered, but the social environment or field 

 undergoes a complete change. There is a multiplication of 

 force in the society or group owing to this mutual penetra- 

 tion of the conjoint fields, which creates the appearance and 

 much of the reality of a new organism. Hence we speak of 

 social or group or national organisms. But as a matter of 

 fact there is no new organism; the society or group is organic 

 without being an organism; holistic without being a whole. 

 The mentality of a crowd as distinct from the number of in- 

 dividuals composing it is a good illustration of the changed 

 and reinforced mental field which results from the meeting 

 of many individuals and the fusion and heightening of their 



