Holomovement

Holomovement is a theoretical concept proposed by physicist David Bohm to describe a dynamic and unbroken totality that underlies all of reality. It forms the foundation of Bohm's interpretation of quantum mechanics and his metaphysical model, particularly as articulated in his book Wholeness and the Implicate Order (1980). The holomovement integrates two key ideas: undivided wholeness and constant process. It suggests that everything in the universe is interconnected and in continual motion, with all forms and structures being temporary abstractions from this deeper, flowing unity.

Origins and background

Louis de Broglie introduced a formalism for quantum mechanics at the 1927 Solvay Congress which explained quantum effects in terms of underlying processes such as a hypothesized pilot wave. This was met with strong criticism, particularly by Wolfgang Pauli, which caused de Broglie to abandon this suggestion.^[1] In 1952, Bohm revived the notion of a pilot wave guiding elementary particles in a way that withstood Pauli's criticism.^[2] Bohm and Basil Hiley criticized a solely epistemological model which only accounts for what can be known about physical processes; developing this pilot-wave theory into an ontological interpretation.^[3]

Bohm felt the extended version of this causal interpretation,^[4]^[5] particularly the notion of quantum potential, impled a "radically new notion of unbroken wholeness of the entire universe".^[6] In this wholeness, which he termed the holomovement, "all things found in the unfolded, explicate order emerge from the holomovement in which they are enfolded as potentialities and ultimately they fall back into it."^[7]

Bohm's dissatisfaction with mechanistic explanations in physics led him to propose a new worldview that emphasized interconnectedness and process. Influenced by his collaborations with Hiley and later F. David Peat, Bohm expanded his framework into a metaphysical model encompassing not only physical reality but also consciousness and cosmology.^[8]

Core concepts

Definition

Bohm defines 'holomovement' as an "unknown and indescribable totality." He goes on to say:

"Thus in its totality, the holomovement is not limited in any specifiable way at all. It is not required to conform to any particular order, or to be bounded by any particular measure. Thus, the holomovement is undefinable and immeasurable."
— David Bohm^[9]^: 191

Undivided wholeness

In the first essay of Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Bohm introduces the idea of "undivided wholeness in flowing movement" as a paradigm shift from the fragmentary view of classical physics. He argues that all things are temporary abstractions from a continuous process of becoming, and that wholeness precedes the parts.^[10] Bohm's notion has been interpreted by scholars as a shift toward a process-based ontology grounded in quantum realism.^[11]

Implicate and explicate order

Bohm distinguishes between two orders of reality: the implicate (enfolded) order and the explicate (unfolded) order. The implicate order represents the hidden, generative structure of reality from which observable phenomena emerge. The holomovement is the ground from which the implicate and explicate orders arise, and into which they return.^[10]

All is flux

Echoing the philosophy of Heraclitus, Bohm emphasizes that all reality is process: "All is flux." He contrasts this with the mechanistic view of isolated particles and static laws, proposing instead that process and movement are the primary realities.^[10] Bohm's emphasis on flux and interrelation has been compared to classical Chinese thought, including the processual logic of the Yijing (Book of Changes), which models reality in terms of instability and transformation.^[12]

Applications and implications

Bohm proposed, in a metaphysical extension of his quantum theory, that life and consciousness might emerge from the same implicate order that underlies physical processes.^[13] This view has been taken up in transpersonal psychology and speculative cosmology, but remains outside mainstream neuroscience.^[14]

Recent interpretations in integrative biology have extended the holomovement concept to propose models of "omni-local consciousness," suggesting that consciousness may be a fundamental and distributed property of the holofield.^[15]

The holomovement has also been invoked in spiritual and activist communities as a metaphor for collective awakening and planetary coherence, sometimes framing it as a foundation for a "new story" in sociocultural evolution.^[16]

Reception and criticism

Theckedath, in his review^[17] of The Undivided Universe: An Ontological Interpretation of Quantum Theory by D. Bohm, B. J. Hiley, criticized their characterization of holomovement as having two "poles", one mental and one physical. According to Theckedath, the mental pole adds an element of mysticism to the holomovement concept and separates holomovement from objective matter, creating a "notion of motion without matter".

Paavo Pylkkänen and Gordon Globus, have explored its potential relevance to mind-matter interactions and holistic neuroscience.^[18] In the field of religious studies, Wouter Hanegraaff has classified the holomovement as a "scientific myth" characteristic of New Age metaphysics.^[14] Nonetheless, it has inspired dialogues in fields such as systems theory, consciousness studies, and transpersonal psychology.^[19]

The holomovement has also been cited in speculative ethical frameworks concerning posthuman and extraterrestrial intelligences, where it serves as a basis for modeling universal interconnectivity and moral coherence.^[20]

Theologian Kevin J. Sharpe has proposed that Bohm's holomovement provides a viable framework for a non-dualistic metaphysical theology that preserves transcendence while allowing for dynamic immanence.^[21] Kabbalist and science scholar Jeffrey Gordon has argued that Bohm's concept of holomovement resonates with kabbalistic notions of divine unfolding, reflecting broader efforts to align mystical cosmologies with emerging scientific paradigms.^[22] Bohm's focus on vibratory enfoldment has also been compared to tantric meditative models in which primordial sound and vibration structure the unfolding of reality.^[23]

References

^ Theckedath 1997, pp. 57–58: "The alternative approach was of Louis de Broglie who tried to give a causal quantum theory in which quantum effects were sought to be explain in terms of underlying processes such as the action of a postulated 'pilot wave'. However, de Broglie's theory met with strong criticism. The most important criticism, which was levelled by Pauli, was that in a two-body scattering process, the model could not be applied coherently. As a result of this strong attack de Broglie abandoned his suggestion."
^ Theckedath 1997, pp. 59: "Nearly 25 years later in 1952 Bohm published the first of two articles in the Physical Review where he not only demolished von Neumann's claim but presented a model of a quantum theory in terms of certain 'hidden variables'. He brought back the idea of a pilot wave guiding the elementary particles but he did it in a way that could handle Pauli's criticism and account for many body systems."
^ Theckedath 1997, pp. 59: "The ontological interpretation presented in this book is this theory as it has been developed further by Bohm, and Vigier, Bohm and Hiley, and various other scientists."
^ Bohm 1990, p. 271: "This approach is based on the causal interpretation of the quantum theory, in which an electron, for example, is regarded as an inseparable union of a particle and a field."
^ Bohm 1985, p. 115: "A more detailed consideration of this extended theory led me to look more carefully into the meaning of the quantum potential."
^ Bohm & Hiley 1975, p. 93: "This is done in terms of the causal interpretation of the quantum theory, proposed by one of us (D.B.) in 1952, involving the introduction of the “quantum potential.” We show that this approach implies a new universal type of description, in which the standard or canonical form is always supersystem-system-subsystem; and this leads to the radically new notion of unbroken wholeness of the entire universe."
^ Bohm 1990, p. 273.
^ Bohm & Peat 1987; Pylkkänen 2007.
^ Bohm 1980.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bohm 1980; Pylkkänen 2007.
^ Pylkkänen 2007.
^ Leong 2023.
^ Bohm & Hiley 1993; Pylkkänen 2007.
^ ^a ^b Hanegraaff 2018.
^ Lohrey & Boreham 2021; Lohrey & Boreham 2022.
^ Kuntzelman & Robinson 2021.
^ Theckedath 1997, pp. 57–58
^ Pylkkänen 2007; Globus 2012.
^ Peat 2018.
^ Andresen 2023.
^ Sharpe 1993.
^ Gordon 2002.
^ Muller-Ortega 1992.

Works cited

Andresen, J. (2023). Extraterrestrial Ethics. Ethics International Press. pp. 186–188. ISBN 978-1-871891-36-2.
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Bohm, David (1980). Wholeness and the Implicate Order. Routledge. Bibcode:1980wio..book.....B.
Bohm, David (1985-06-02). "Hidden variables and the implicate order". Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science. 20 (2). doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.1985.tb00586.x. ISSN 1467-9744. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
Bohm, David; Peat, F. David (1987). Science, Order, and Creativity. Routledge.
Bohm, David (1990). "A new theory of the relationship of mind and matter". Philosophical Psychology. 3 (2–3): 271–286. doi:10.1080/09515089008573004. ISSN 0951-5089. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
Bohm, David; Hiley, B. J. (1993). The Undivided Universe: An Ontological Interpretation of Quantum Theory. Routledge.
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Gordon, K. (2002). "Worlds within Worlds: Kabbalah and the New Scientific Paradigm". Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science. 37 (4): 963–983. doi:10.1111/1467-9744.00467.
Hanegraaff, W. J. (2018). New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. Leiden: Brill. pp. 146–149. ISBN 978-90-04-37893-3.
Kuntzelman, E.; Robinson, J. (Autumn 2021). "The Holomovement". Kosmos Journal: 1–11.
Leong, D. (2023). "A new dialogue on Yijing -the book of changes in a world of changes, instability, disequilibrium and turbulence". Asian Philosophy. 33 (3): 208–232. doi:10.1080/09552367.2023.2196156.
Lohrey, A.; Boreham, B. (2021). "Lifting the veil on Bohm's holomovement". Communicative & Integrative Biology. 14 (1): 221–229. doi:10.1080/19420889.2021.2001157. PMC 8632281. PMID 34858545.
Lohrey, A.; Boreham, B. (2022). "Omni-local consciousness". Communicative & Integrative Biology. 15 (1): 193–208. doi:10.1080/19420889.2022.2107726. PMC 9415576. PMID 36035981.
Muller-Ortega, Paul E. (1992). "Tantric Meditations and Vocalic Beginnings". In Padoux, A. (ed.). Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism: Studies in Honour of André Padoux. State University of New York Press. pp. 227–246. ISBN 978-0-7914-0897-1.
Peat, F. David (1997). Infinite Potential: The Life and Times of David Bohm. Addison-Wesley.
Peat, David (2018). "David Bohm, Implicate Order and Holomovement". Science and Nonduality. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
Pylkkänen, P. T. I. (2007). Mind, Matter and the Implicate Order. Physica-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-540-48058-7.
Sharpe, K. J. (1993). "Holomovement metaphysics and theology". Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science. 28: 47–60. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.1993.tb01018.x.
Theckedath, K. K. (1997). "David Bohm and the Holomovement". Social Scientist. 25 (7/8): 57. doi:10.2307/3517605. Retrieved 2025-04-22.