sum of its parts

English

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sum of its parts (plural sums of their parts)

A group which can be seen as a mere juxtaposition of the elements that compose it; a collection of things where there is no new property or added value that emerges from the interactions between its parts.
Together, the ant colony was greater than the sum of its parts.
- 4th century BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics:
  The whole is different from the sum of its parts.