The whole is greater

The difference between mechanical and organic is the difference between assembly and growth. 

Assembly requires all the parts to be clearly demarked with identities of their own. The whole is merely the proper assembly of the parts and comes about after the assembly is completed. Growth requires the whole to be clearly demarked with an identity of its own. The parts developed out of the maturation of the whole, which whole comes about prior to the completion of the maturation process. 

The mechanical divides before it unifies; the organic unifies before it divides; the conscious unifies, divides, and then unifies again – simplicity at the end of a complexity that itself comes out of an original simplicity. 

This triplicate system is what makes for creative action. It enables life or consciousness to take hold. It is the means by which the sum of the parts becomes less than the whole or, to put it another way, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.