The earliest reductionist philosopher was
Thales
, born around 636 BC at Miletus in Asia Minor. He hypothesized that the universe was made out of water—water being the fundamental substance of which all others were composed. Reductionism was later re-introduced by Descartes in Part V of his Discourses.
What is the reductionist theory?
Reductionism is a
theory in psychology centered on reducing complex phenomena into their most basic parts
. … The purpose of reductionism is to simplify psychological events and processes by looking at their smallest elements, thus “reducing” something rather complex into its most simple.
Who invented reductionism?
The idea of Reductionism was first introduced by
Descartes
in Part V of his “Discourses” of 1637, where he argued the world was like a machine, its pieces like clockwork mechanisms, and that the machine could be understood by taking its pieces apart, studying them, and then putting them back together to see the larger …
Was Aristotle a reductionist?
Aristotle is
an “anti-reductionist
.” He believes that the behavior of living things cannot be fully explained in terms of their material constituents; i.e., it cannot be reduced to what would today fall under the sciences of physics and chemistry.
Who studied reductionism?
Ernest Nagel’s
general treatment of reductionism in chapters 11 and 12 of The Structure of Science (1961) canvassed many different aspects of these perennial debates.
Why is reductionism bad?
In doing so, ideological reductionism manifests a cascade
of errors
in method and logic: reification, arbitrary agglomeration, improper quantification, confusion of statistical artefact with biological reality, spurious localization and misplaced causality.
What is reductionism in history?
Reductionists are
those who take one theory or phenomenon to be reducible to some other theory or phenomenon
. … In the twentieth century, most philosophers considered the question of the reduction of theories to be prior to the question of the reduction of entities or phenomena.
What is a reductionist argument?
If someone believes that you can break complex theories into simple, smaller parts
, you can call that person a reductionist. … The preference for simplifying, especially when it involves breaking complicated ideas into smaller, less complicated ideas, is reductionist.
Is reductionistic a word?
re·duc·tion·ism.
An attempt or tendency to explain a complex set of facts
, entities, phenomena, or structures by another, simpler set: “Science requires some degree of reductionism, some picking apart and focusing on one or two variables at a time” (Natalie Angier). re·duc′tion·ist adj.
Where did reductionism come from?
The idea of Reductionism was
first introduced by Descartes in Part V of his “Discourses” of 1637
, where he argued the world was like a machine, its pieces like clockwork mechanisms, and that the machine could be understood by taking its pieces apart, studying them, and then putting them back together to see the larger …
Why is reductionism scientific?
One form of scientific reductionism follows the
belief that every single process in nature can be broken down into its constituent parts and can be described scientifically
. The broadest sense of the term upholds the idea that science can be used to explain everything, and that nothing is unknowable.
Which approaches are reductionist?
However any explanation of behavior at its simplest level can be deemed reductionist. The
experimental and laboratory approach
in various areas of psychology (e.g. behaviorism, biological, cognitive) reflects a reductionist position.
What is the difference between holistic and reductionist?
Reductionism and holism are two different approaches in psychology that researchers use to create experiments and draw conclusions. Reductionism
likes to divide explanations of behaviour into separate components
, whilst holism likes to look at the picture as a whole.
How many types of reductionism are there?
At
least three types
of reductionism can be distinguished: ontological, methodological, and theoretical.
What is reductionist materialism?
The view that only the material world (matter) is truly real, and that all processes and realities observed in the universe can be explained by reducing
them down to their most basic scientific components
, e.g., atoms, molecules, and everything else thought to make up what we know as “matter.” For example, a reductive …
What is religious reductionism?
As the term gets used in religious studies, “reductionism” refers
to an analysis of religion in secular rather than religious terms
. The origin, function, meaning, and even truth of religion are subject to reduction.
