‘This “analytical mindset,” in the original sense of analysis as “the resolution of something complex into simple elements,” destroyed the manifold intricacy of organic traditional society as it was conceptually applied outside of a strict philosophical setting and into the broader stream of society.’
How exactly does seeking understanding of large complex problems by examining the components “destroy the manifold intricacy” of anything? Seems to me that the effect is the opposite. Imagine the classic “2001 A Space Odyssey” sequence of proto-humans marveling at an enigmatic black rectilinear form. That’s the alternative method of understanding the author prefers to evil analysis.
“How exactly does seeking understanding of large complex problems by examining the components “destroy the manifold intricacy” of anything?”
Not just “seeking understanding”. The problem is to insist that the only legitimate knowledge is that which is obtained by those means. It leads to strict materialism, which leads to nihilism, which leads to the kind of society we see around us everywhere today.
The mechanism of that is simple enough to understand. Once you have decided that your method of analysis is the only sure path to knowledge, then you must confront things in this world which do not yield to analysis. What is the response? To either attribute those phenomenon to things that you can analyze, regardless of the inability to support that connection, or simply to deny their existence.
But that doesn’t solve the conflict, it just papers over it. The fundamental problem remains unaddressed and unaddressed problems fester. We have seen the result of this festering in our own society. People have a fundamental yearning for meaning and materialists can provide none. The best they have come up with is either the existentialists’ “make up your own meaning” answer (which is unsatisfactory), or the nihilists’ “there is no meaning” answer, which appeals to those who wish to excuse hedonistic behavior, so it tends to become the more popular choice for the people as time progresses.