整全观（holism）的主张，是一个系统（宇宙、人体等）中各部分为一有机之整，而不能割裂或分开来理解。根据此一观点，分析整体时若将其视作部分的总和，或将整体化约为分离的元素，将难免疏漏。

许多原始文明也有整全观的概念，例如北美或澳洲的原住民相信他们跟土地、神灵、动植物的联系，并体现在宗教仪式之中。中国古代儒道思想有「天人合一」，中医学说明了整全观如何应用在实用性的学科——它将人体各部份视为一有机整体，而不单是器官的集成。要医治病人须保持整个人阴阳调和，而非单一器官的问题。中医也是现代整全医疗中的代表之一。

Holism (from Greek ὅλος holos "all, whole, entire") is the idea that systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) and their properties should be viewed as wholes, not as collections of parts. This often includes the view that systems function as wholes and that their functioning cannot be fully understood solely in terms of their component parts.