--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A natural hierarchy is simply an order of…" description: "\"A natural hierarchy is simply an order of increasing wholeness, such as: particles to atoms to cells to organisms, or letters to words to sentences to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/ken-wilber-1886_atoms_a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-o_1477165.jpg" --- # A natural hierarchy is simply an order of increasing… ![“A natural hierarchy is simply an order of increasing wholeness, such as: particles to atoms to cells to organisms, or letters to words to sentences to paragraphs. The whole of one level becomes part of the whole of the next. In other words, natural hierarchies are composed of holons.” quote by Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/ken-wilber-1886_atoms_a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-o_1477165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/ken-wilber-1886_atoms_a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-o_1477165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/ken-wilber-1886_atoms_a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-o_1477165.jpg) > “A natural hierarchy is simply an order of increasing wholeness, such as: particles to atoms to cells to organisms, or letters to words to sentences to paragraphs. The whole of one level becomes part of the whole of the next. In other words, natural hierarchies are composed of holons.” [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Natural hierarchies consist of nested wholes where each level becomes a part of a larger whole, forming holons. **In simple terms:** Levels build on each other to form larger wholes. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect the interconnectedness of parts. Themes systems holism interdependence growth complexity Mood curious analytical inspired Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - organizational design - software architecture - ecology - personal development Key Concepts holon emergence scale integration Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing a team as a holon change management? - What benefits arise from recognizing interdependence? A Different Perspective Complex systems can be oversimplified if not all interactions are considered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Particles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) ## Related quotes > [“racism refers to the belief in a natural hierarchy that places blacks at the bottom, and the tendency of whites to judge their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/racism-refers-to-the-belief-in-a-natural-hierarchy-that-places-blacks/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [Ordered by subject, by importance, ordered according to whether the book was penned by God or by one of God's creatures, ordered alphabetically or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/ordered-by-subject-by-importance-ordered-according-to-whether-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Ideals jump across the hierarchies of the printed word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-potter/ideals-jump-across-the-hierarchies-of-the-printed-word/) [Dennis Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-potter/) > [High school is all about hierarchies, labels, cliques - we are labeled and structured. Everyone goes through it, more or less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skyler-samuels/high-school-is-all-about-hierarchies-labels-cliques-we-are-labeled/) [Skyler Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skyler-samuels/) > [“Africa had a kind of feudalism, like Europe based on agriculture, and with hierarchies”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/africa-had-a-kind-of-feudalism-like-europe-based-on-agriculture-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“All, from police forces to armed forces, are rigid hierarchies of salaried employees, and all are necessarily cumbered with incompetents who cannot do their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/all-from-police-forces-to-armed-forces-are-rigid-hierarchies-of/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [The 20th century was all about hierarchies: if you want to create something, if you want to start a country, create a product, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-fussell/the-20th-century-was-all-about-hierarchies-if-you-want-to-create/) [Chris Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-fussell/) > [In the old systems, hierarchies emanate power from above to below through forms of line management and are ideologically supported by cosmologies and theologies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/in-the-old-systems-hierarchies-emanate-power-from-above-to-below/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [In most hierarchies, supercompetence is more objectionable than incompetence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/in-most-hierarchies-supercompetence-is-more-objectionable-than/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [There are no hierarchies in nature other than those imposed by hierarchical modes of human thought, but rather differences merely in function between and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/there-are-no-hierarchies-in-nature-other-than-those-imposed-by/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/hierarchies-are-celestial-in-hell-all-are-equal/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [There are no hierarchies, no infinite, no such many as mass, there are only/ eyes in all heads,/ to be looked out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/there-are-no-hierarchies-no-infinite-no-such-many-as-mass-there-are/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [Millennials really don't perceive hierarchies. They either don't perceive them or don't like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-pinsky/millennials-really-don-t-perceive-hierarchies-they-either-don-t/) [Drew Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-pinsky/) > [We all have hierarchies at work - even on set, the runner would never walk up to the director and ask for a cup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/we-all-have-hierarchies-at-work-even-on-set-the-runner-would-never/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [Organizations must shift away from repetitive-function hierarchies with rules and enforcement and walls. Instead, we must migrate rapidly to becoming a global 'team of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-drayton/organizations-must-shift-away-from-repetitive-function-hierarchies/) [Bill Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-drayton/) ## More by Ken Wilber > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [If Spirit has any meaning, it must be omnipresent, or all-pervading and all-encompassing. There can't be a place where Spirit is not, or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/if-spirit-has-any-meaning-it-must-be-omnipresent-or-all-pervading-and/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Evolution occurs in the world of time and space and form, whereas Spirit's primordial nature is finally timeless and Formless, prior to the of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/evolution-occurs-in-the-world-of-time-and-space-and-form-whereas/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The most striking feature of the perennial philosophy/psychology is that it presents being and consciousness as a hierarchy of dimensional levels, moving from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/the-most-striking-feature-of-the-perennial-philosophy-psychology-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Is this a topic whose time has truly come? The integration of science and religion? Or have I just written a clever book that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/is-this-a-topic-whose-time-has-truly-come-the-integration-of-science/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [In other words, the real problem is not exterior. The real problem is interior. The real problem is how to get people to internally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/in-other-words-the-real-problem-is-not-exterior-the-real-problem-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality... does not render the self content, it renders it undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-does-not-render-the-self-content-it-renders-it/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [When it comes to spiritual teachers, there are those safe, gentle, consoling, soothing, caring; and there are the outlaws, the living terrors, the Rude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/when-it-comes-to-spiritual-teachers-there-are-those-safe-gentle/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Conscious means "having an awareness of one's inner and outer worlds; mentally perceptive, awake, mindful." So "conscious business" might mean, engaging in an occupation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/conscious-means-having-an-awareness-of-one-s-inner-and-outer-worlds/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [I believe that evidence shows that there is a real spirit, a real Beach, but it is beneath no pavement whatsoever, for all pavements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/i-believe-that-evidence-shows-that-there-is-a-real-spirit-a-real/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Furthermore, it is not that Spirit is present but you need to be enlightened in order to see it. It is not that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/furthermore-it-is-not-that-spirit-is-present-but-you-need-to-be/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality is revolutionary. It does not legitimate the world, it breaks the world; it does not console the world, it shatters it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-is-revolutionary-it-does-not-legitimate-the/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [What's my philosophy? In a word, integral. And what on earth — or in heaven — do I mean by integral? The dictionary meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/what-s-my-philosophy-in-a-word-integral-and-what-on-earth-or-in/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Matter begins evolving back to Spirit and, when it's reached, the whole process begins over again for the billionth time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/matter-begins-evolving-back-to-spirit-and-when-it-s-reached-the-whole/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) [Explore all 200 Ken Wilber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## More Atoms quotes > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) Giulio Natta > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) Wilhelm Korner > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“An atom is mostly made up of empty space. If you remove the empty space from every atom, the entire world's human population could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weike-wang/an-atom-is-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-if-you-remove-the-empty/) [Weike Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weike-wang/) > [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/) [Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/) > [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) [Browse all 852 Atoms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A natural hierarchy is simply an order of increasing wholeness, such as: particles to atoms to cells to organisms, or letters to words to sentences to paragraphs. The whole of one level becomes part of the whole of the next. In other words, natural hierarchies are composed of holons.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Wilber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-of-increasing-wholeness-such/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atoms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-of-increasing-wholeness-such/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/ken-wilber-1886_atoms_a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-o_1477165.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/ken-wilber-1886_atoms_a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-o_1477165.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/ken-wilber-1886_atoms_a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-o_1477165.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A natural hierarchy is simply an order of increasing wholeness, such as: particles to atoms to cells to…” — Ken Wilber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ken Wilber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A natural hierarchy is simply an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-of-increasing-wholeness-such/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-natural-hierarchy-is-simply-an-order-of-increasing-wholeness-such/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```