Science in the past (and partly in the present), was dominated by one-sided empiricism. Only a collection of data and experiments were considered as … - Ludwig von Bertalanffy

# or relational mathematics, including non-metrical fields such as network and graph theory.

Mechanism... provides us with no grasp of the specific characteristics of organisms, of the organization of organic processes among one another, of organic 'wholeness', of the problem of the origin of organic 'teleology', or of the historical character of organisms... We must therefore try to establish a new standpoint which — as opposed to mechanism — takes account of organic wholeness, but... treats it in a manner which admits of scientific investigation.

While we can conceive of a sum [or aggregate] as being composed gradually, a system as a total of parts with its [multiplicative] interrelations has to be conceived of as being composed instantly.