Social wholes exceed their components, so social law cannot be physical law

Evidence

In the case of man, who is this external agent? In the factory it is the division of labour, etc., conditions created by man himself. In society it is the ensemble of productive forces. But the author of the Manual has not considered that, if every social aggregate is something more (and different) than the sum of its components, this must mean that the law or principle which explains the development of society cannot be a physical law, since in physics one does not get out of the quantitative sphere except metaphorically. However, in the philosophy of praxis quality is also connected to quantity and this connection is perhaps its most fertile contribution. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1656

Categorization

• XREF: This ‘whole exceeds the sum of parts’ formulation anticipates the structuralist/holistic assumptions that Islamic Studies critiques inherit; connects to the collective subjecthood debates in the Islamophobia toolkit. — connects to: Systems theory cannot legitimately describe either science or society — Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on…, 431; An irrational social whole cannot be grasped by a rational, consistent theory. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2390; Society’s laws cannot be physical laws because social aggregates transform quantitatively into quality — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1656
• DEFINE: Defines the philosophy of praxis position that quantity and quality are dialectically connected in social explanation.