Full Idea
Holism immediately suggests that most terms cannot be defined, at least not in a way that is fixed once and for all.
Gist of Idea
Holism seems to make fixed definition more or less impossible
Source
Hilary Putnam (Representation and Reality [1988], §1 p.09)
Book Reference
Putnam,Hilary: 'Representation and Reality' [MIT 1992], p.9
A Reaction
Perhaps there exists a single perfect definition for each holistic system, only graspable by a transcendent intellect. Or why can't there be a matching holistic system of definitions?