We have reached the limits of a science of quantities, prediction and control. A Science of Qualities Within the tradition of Western science there was a remarkable individual whose work provides a basis for the development of a holistic science of qualities. His scientific work is best remembered within biology, for it was Goethe who introduced the term morphology as the systematic study of the structure of organisms. This insight is typical of Goethe's dynamic approach to morphology, which he saw as essentially the result of the continuous transformation of the growing, developing organism from the seed to the adult form. These, together with detailed examination of quantities and form such as number, shape and arrangement of leaves, sepals and petals, give us an intuitive insight into the nature of the whole organism.
Wholes have emergent properties.
They are expressed in terms of qualities as well as quantities. Health, for example, is an emergent property of living organisms that cannot be defined in terms of a set of quantities such as blood pressure, temperature, counts of different types of blood cell, etc. It is expressed in a variety of properties such as posture, quality of complexion, tone of skin and muscle, feeling good, alertness, and so on. Different traditions of therapy use different criteria of health, but all holistic practitioners speak of ways of reading the whole from examination of parts by assessment of quality as well as quantity. The process of diagnosis and decisions on appropriate treatments are often described in all of these traditions as an art as well as a science.