reductionism – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
reductionism
n.
theory that all phenomena can be explained in terms of a simpler phenomenon
Reductionism
Reductionism refers to several related but different philosophical positions regarding the connections between phenomena, or theories, "reducing" one to another, usually considered "simpler" or more "basic".
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy suggests that it is "one of the most used and abused terms in the philosophical lexicon" and suggests a three part division:
- Ontological reductionism: a belief that the whole of reality consists of a minimal number of parts
- Methodological reductionism: the scientific attempt to provide explanation in terms of ever smaller entities
- Theory reductionism: the suggestion that a newer theory does not replace or absorb the old, but reduces it to more basic terms. Theory reduction itself is divisible into three: translation, derivation and explanation.
reductionism
Noun
1. a theory that all complex systems can be completely understood in terms of their components
(hypernym) theory
2. the analysis of complex things into simpler constituents
(hypernym) analysis, analytic thinking
reductionism
The belief that some identifiable kind of statements can be replaced systematically by statements or expressions of a simpler or more certain kind. For example, some philosophers have held that arithmetic can be reduced to logic, that the mental can be reduced to the physical, or that the life sciences can be reduced to the physical sciences.
reductionism
