Term: holism: the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole
Broader: theory: a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena | Unrelated: carrier: an inactive substance that is a vehicle for a radioactive tracer of the same substance and that assists in its recovery after some chemical reaction