Reductionism vs. Holism
Difference Between Reductionism and Holism
Reductionismnoun
An approach to studying complex systems or ideas by reducing them to a set of simpler components.
Holismnoun
A theory or belief that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Reductionismnoun
(philosophy) A philosophical position which holds that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts, and that an account of it can be reduced to accounts of individual constituents. In a reductionist framework, the phenomena that can be explained completely in terms of relations between other more fundamental phenomena, are called "epiphenomena".
Holismnoun
A practice based on such a theory or belief.
Reductionismnoun
a theory that all complex systems can be completely understood in terms of their components
Holismnoun
the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole;
holism holds that the whole is greater than the sum of its partsholistic theory has been applied to ecology and language and mental statesReductionismnoun
the analysis of complex things into simpler constituents
