reductionism
reductionism — noun
1. The habit of explaining complicated subjects with such a basic account that esse
The habit of explaining complicated subjects with such a basic account that essential information or different viewpoints get lost.
Critics accused the report of reductionism for blaming the economic crisis entirely on a single cause.
accuse + of + reductionism
Professor Yael warned that reductionism in historical analysis often ignores the role of individual human decisions.
reductionism in [domain]
The documentary was criticised for its reductionism, presenting a conflict as nothing more than a struggle between good and evil.
Meera argued that reductionism in news reporting prevents the public from understanding complex policy issues.
- oversimplification
more general and less theoretical; oversimplification can be accidental, while reductionism suggests a deliberate method or mindset
- simplification
neutral term; reductionism implies the simplification goes too far and distorts the truth
文法句型
reductionism in + noun phrase
accuse + of + reductionism
用法筆記
This sense carries a strong critical or disapproving tone. It is most often used to argue that an analysis, argument, or explanation is misleading because it leaves out necessary complexity.
常見錯誤
2. The position that biological life, in all its complexity, can ultimately be acco
The position that biological life, in all its complexity, can ultimately be accounted for by the same fundamental rules that apply to non-living matter, without needing additional biological principles of its own.
The biologist rejected pure reductionism, saying that a living cell's behavior cannot be predicted from its individual molecules alone.
reject + reductionism
Reductionism has helped scientists understand how DNA stores genetic information through the chemical bonds between its molecules.
Some philosophers argue that reductionism fails to explain human consciousness because the mind has properties that chemistry alone cannot describe.
In medical research, reductionism guides scientists to study diseases by examining the chemical reactions that take place inside individual cells.
- physicalism
a broader philosophical position that everything that exists is physical; reductionism is one way to apply physicalism to biology
- mechanism
the view that living things operate like machines; more common in historical philosophy of science
- holism
the view that living systems have properties that their individual parts do not possess
- emergentism
the belief that complex systems produce new properties that cannot be predicted from their components
文法句型
reductionism + verb (explains / fails to explain)
reductionism in + scientific field
用法筆記
This sense is used mainly in philosophy of science and theoretical biology. It is often contrasted with holism or emergentism, which argue that living systems have properties that cannot be fully reduced to physics and chemistry.
常見錯誤
3. The theory or method of understanding a complex system by breaking it down into
The theory or method of understanding a complex system by breaking it down into its simpler parts and studying each component separately, with the assumption that the whole can be explained through its parts.
The chemistry lab applied reductionism to study the compound by first examining the properties of each element within it.
apply + reductionism + to-infinitive
Allison used reductionism to analyse the computer network by testing each server's performance independently.
Modern physics relies on reductionism to explain the structure of matter by studying the behavior of subatomic particles.
Erik criticised strict reductionism in psychology, arguing that human emotions cannot be understood by studying brain cells alone.
- analysis
a broader term that does not carry the theoretical claim that the whole is fully explained by its parts
- decomposition
more concrete and technical; used especially in chemistry, computing, and mathematics for breaking a system into functional units
文法句型
reductionism + to-infinitive
rely on + reductionism
apply + reductionism
用法筆記
This is the broadest and most neutral sense, describing a widely used analytical approach across many academic fields. It is often discussed alongside its opposite, holism, and the two are compared when evaluating research methods.