Holism

Would it be correct to say that "realistic" is to "real" as "holistic" is to "whole"? Holistic is a word that I do not like very much. I have often heard people say they want to deal with a problem "holistically", which I assume means that they want to deal with things in the broadest possible context, but I'm never quite sure what they mean. Is this correct usage? When I go to the dictionary I find that the definition does not quite square with the way I hear people using it.

Maybe if you gave us an example of the questionable use of holistic?

I would suggest that if they want to deal with the problem holistically they should be considering all aspects of the whatever-it-is that has the problem, not just the specific part that shows symptoms right now.

I'm in agreement with you TRG. I was never sure what people meant by it either because in the contexts I've heard it used in, it didn't make a lot of sense. A couple of years ago it seemed to be a very popular word in my business but I don't hear it much anymore.