Definition
Reductionism is any of several related philosophical ideas regarding the associations between phenomena which can be described in terms of simpler or more fundamental phenomena. It is also described as an intellectual and philosophical position that interprets a complex system as the sum of its parts, contrary to holism. Reductionism tends to focus on the small, predictable details of a system and is often associated with various philosophies like emergence, materialism, and determinism.
Related concepts
A. J. AyerA New Kind of Science (book)A priori and a posterioriActualismAdolf GrünbaumAge of EnlightenmentAlasdair MacIntyreAlbrecht RitschlAlexander PrussAlfred North WhiteheadAlfred TarskiAlice CraryAlonzo ChurchAlternative hypothesisAlvin GoldmanAlvin PlantingaAlyssa NeyAnalysis of algorithmsAnalytic philosophyAnalytic theologyAnalytical MarxismAnalytical ThomismAnalytical feminismAnalytic–synthetic distinctionAnil Gupta (philosopher)Anti-realismAntireductionismAntony FlewAristotleAuguste ComteAugustine of HippoAustralian realismAutomatonAxiomatic set theoryAxiomsBarry StroudBaruch SpinozaBas van FraassenBeliefBerlin CircleBernard WilliamsBertrand RussellC. D. BroadCarl Gustav HempelCasimir LewyCategory theoryCausal theory of referenceCausalityCell (biology)CertaintyCharles Sanders PeirceCharles Stevenson (philosopher)Charles Taylor (philosopher)ChemistryChristine KorsgaardChristopher HitchcockClassical logicClassical mechanicsCognitive psychologyCoherentismCommensurability (philosophy of science)Common senseComplex systemComplexityComputability theoryComputer scienceConfirmation holismConsilienceConstruct (philosophy)Constructive empiricismConstructive realismConstructivist epistemologyContextualismContinuum hypothesisControl variableConventionalismCora DiamondCorrelationCorrelation functionCounterfactual conditionalCreative synthesisCriticism of scienceDaniel DennettDavid ChalmersDavid HumeDavid Kaplan (philosopher)David Lewis (philosopher)David Malet ArmstrongDeductive-nomological modelDemarcation problemDependent and independent variablesDerek ParfitDescartesDescriptive knowledgeDescriptive researchDescriptivist theory of namesDesign of experimentsDeterminismDeviant logicDigesting DuckDirect and indirect realismDonald Davidson (philosopher)Duncan PritchardEcosystemsEdmund GettierEdward Burnett TylorEliminative materialismEmergenceEmergentismEmotivismEmpirical evidenceEmpiricismEpistemic injusticeEpistemic virtueEpistemological anarchismEpistemologyEpistemology of WikipediaErnest NagelErnest SosaErnst MallyErnst ZermeloEvidence-based practiceEvolutionary epistemologyEvolutionismExact sciencesExperimentExplanationExplanatory powerExploratory thoughtFactFaith and rationalityFallibilismFalsifiabilityFeedback loopFeminist epistemologyFeminist methodFideismFirst-order logicForcing (mathematics)Formal epistemologyFoundationalismFrancis BaconFrank P. RamseyFred DretskeFree willFriedrich SchleiermacherFriedrich WaismannFritjof CapraFunctional contextualismFunctionalism (philosophy of mind)Further factsG. E. M. AnscombeG. E. MooreGalileo GalileiGeorge BerkeleyGeorge Kelly (psychologist)Gettier problemGilbert RyleGilles DeleuzeGottlob FregeGraham PriestGreedy reductionismGödel's incompleteness theoremsHans Hahn (mathematician)Hans ReichenbachHard and soft scienceHauntologyHelen BeebeeHenri PoincaréHilary KornblithHilary PutnamHistory and philosophy of scienceHolismHypothesisHypothetico-deductive modelIan HackingIgnoramus et ignorabimusImmanuel KantImre LakatosInductionismInductive reasoningInfinitismInformation theoryInnatismInquiryInstrumentalismInternalism and externalismInternet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyIntertheoretic reductionIsaac NewtonJ. J. C. SmartJ. L. AustinJ. L. MackieJaakko HintikkaJaegwon KimJames F. ConantJames George FrazerJames PryorJan ŁukasiewiczJerry FodorJohannes KeplerJohn DeweyJohn DupréJohn LockeJohn McDowellJohn PolkinghorneJohn RawlsJohn SearleJustification (epistemology)Karl PearsonKarl PopperKeith DeRoseKeith DonnellanKnowledgeKurt GödelLarry LaudanLaurence BonJourLinguistic turnList of epistemologistsList of philosophers of scienceLogical atomismLogical positivismLogical possibilityLudwig WittgensteinLwów–Warsaw schoolMacroscopicMaterialismMathematical logicMathematicsMeasurementMental modelMeta (prefix)MetaepistemologyMetaphysical necessityMetaphysicsMetatheories of religion in the social sciencesMichael DummettMichael PolanyiMichael RuseMichael WalzerMicroscopicMill's methodsModal realismModality (semantics)Model-dependent realismMolecular biologyMoritz SchlickMorton WhiteMultiple realizabilityNP-hardnessNancey MurphyNancy Cartwright (philosopher)Nathan SalmonNatural kindNaturalism (philosophy)Naturalized epistemologyNature (philosophy)Naïve realismNelson GoodmanNeopragmatismNeural networks (biology)NeurophilosophyNewtonian mechanicsNicholas RescherNicholas WolterstorffNoam ChomskyNon-classical logicNon-scienceNorman MalcolmNormative scienceNoumenonNull hypothesisObject (philosophy)Objectivity (philosophy)ObservationOrdinary language philosophyOtto NeurathOutline of epistemologyP. F. StrawsonParaconsistent logicParadigmParadox of analysisPatricia ChurchlandPatrick SuppesPaul ChurchlandPaul FeyerabendPaul GricePejorativePerceptionPerformativityPersonal construct psychologyPeter D. KleinPeter GalisonPeter GeachPeter Menzies (philosopher)Peter SingerPeter van InwagenPhenomena (philosophy)PhenomenalismPhenomenological reductionPhenomenonPhilippa FootPhilosophical analysisPhilosophical logicPhilosophical skepticismPhilosophyPhilosophy of archaeologyPhilosophy of biologyPhilosophy of chemistryPhilosophy of economicsPhilosophy of geographyPhilosophy of historyPhilosophy of languagePhilosophy of linguisticsPhilosophy of mathematicsPhilosophy of perceptionPhilosophy of physicsPhilosophy of psychologyPhilosophy of sciencePhilosophy of social sciencePhilosophy of space and timePhysicalismPhysicsPierre DuhemPinker, StevenPittsburgh SchoolPlanetPlatoPolynomial-time reductionPositivismPossible worldPragmatismPrivileged accessProblem of inductionProblem of other mindsProcedural knowledgePropensity probabilityPropositionProtosciencePseudosciencePsychologismQuestionable causeQuietism (philosophy)R. M. HareRationalismReceived view of theoriesReductionism (music)Reflective equilibriumReformed epistemologyRegress argumentReification (fallacy)Relationship between religion and scienceReliabilismRené DescartesResearchRhetoric of scienceRichard RortyRichard SwinburneRigid designatorRobert AudiRobert BrandomRobert NozickRobert UlanowiczRoderick ChisholmRoger BaconRomanticismRosenberg, AlexanderRudolf CarnapRudolf SteinerRuth MillikanSaul KripkeScienceScience studiesScientific RevolutionScientific essentialismScientific evidenceScientific formalismScientific lawScientific methodScientific pluralismScientific realismScientific skepticismScientific theoryScientismSecond-order logicSemantic holismSemantic view of theoriesSense dataSimon BlackburnSimplicitySocial epistemologySocietySociology of scientific ignoranceSociology of scientific knowledgeSolar SystemStanford SchoolStatistical mechanicsStructuralism (philosophy of science)SupervenienceSusan HaackSusanna SiegelSøren KierkegaardTechnological determinismTestabilityThe Oxford Companion to PhilosophyThe Selfish GeneThe Structure of Scientific RevolutionsThe World (Descartes)Theoretical computer scienceTheoryTheory-ladennessTheory choiceThermodynamic lawsThomas AquinasThomas KuhnThomas NagelThomas ReidThought experimentTimothy WilliamsonTranscendental idealismTruthTuring reductionTwo Dogmas of EmpiricismTyler BurgeUncertaintyUndecidable problemUnderdeterminationUniformitarianismUnity of scienceVariable and attribute (research)VerificationismVienna CircleVirtue epistemologyVirtue ethicsVitalismW. D. RossWeinberg, StevenWilfrid SellarsWilhelm WindelbandWillard Van Orman QuineWilliam AlstonWilliam Lane CraigWorldviewZermelo–Fraenkel set theory
45 concepts already in your glossary