Wiktionary
n. (context philosophy English) A connection between holons (things that are both a part and a whole).
Wikipedia
A holarchy, in the terminology of Arthur Koestler, is a connection between holons, where a holon is both a part and a whole. The term was coined in Koestler's 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine.
Holarchy is commonly referred to as a form of hierarchy; however, hierarchy, by its definition, has both an absolute top and bottom. But this is not logically possible in a holon, as it is both a whole and a part. The "hierarchical relationship" between holons at different levels can just as meaningfully be described with terms like "in and out", as they can with "up and down" or "left and right"; perhaps more generally, one can say that holons at one level are "made up of, or make up" the holons or parts of another level. This can be demonstrated in the holarchic relationship (subatomic particles ↔ atoms ↔ molecules ↔ macromolecules ↔ organelles ↔ cells ↔ tissues ↔ organs ↔ organisms ↔ communities ↔ societies) where each holon is a "level" of organization, and all are ultimately descriptive of the same set (e.g., a particular collection of matter). The top can be a bottom, a bottom can be a top, and, like a fractal, the patterns evident at one level can be similar to those at another.
Usage examples of "holarchy".
Because holarchy is the study of nested truths, no matter how much we expand our contexts, this does not invalidate the relative truths of smaller contexts.
Great Holarchy of Being was collapsed into a monological and flatland holism of observable exteriors, namely, the great interlocking order.
The vertical and horizontal holarchy of depth and span was ditched in favor of merely a horizontal holarchy of span alone.
This is why, in shorthand, I refer to this, in the text, as "the vertical and horizontal holarchy of depth and span was ditched in favor of merely a horizontal holarchy of span alone.
Thus, I have never been satisfied with any of the panpsychical theories, because they qualify depth with particular manifestations of depth (such as sensations or feelings or intentions), and these do not exist throughout the holarchy of being, but emerge only at particular levels of depth, whereas depth itself is present from the start (or wherever there is a boundary).