Reductionism works with the idea that a complex system is the sum of its parts. It is a philosophical and scientific theory that believes a phenomenon can be explained by analyzing the simpler, more basic mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon. Approach’s are based on the idea that complex systems can be understood by examining the more fundamental components, and studying the relationships and interactions of the different parts.
Concepts and influences of reductionism can be traced back to the 17th century Enlightenment, and as far back as ancient Greece. Reduction got it’s -ism in the 20th century from the philosophy of science, when people were theorizing the ideas that would become what is now the basic out line for modern thoughts on reductionism.
Reductionism is commonly described by three different types; ontological, methodological, and epistemological.
Ontological reductionism is a philosophical belief that reality as a whole can be reduced to and explained by simpler, more fundamental entities or properties. It’s based on the idea that the fundamental constituents of reality are the building blocks of everything else. This approach is concerned with understanding the nature of reality and the relationship between the different levels of it.
Methodological reductionism is a scientific approach that attempts to explain complex phenomena by breaking them down into simpler, more fundamental entities. Goals are to isolate specific components of a system and study them in order to understand how specific variables and factors can effect the larger parts.
Epistemological reductionism is the philosophical idea that the knowledge of one domain whether it be philosophical, scientific, or any other form of knowledge, can be reduced to and explained by a simpler, more fundamental domain of knowledge and theories. At it’s core this is about studying the nature of knowledge and how to obtain it in it’s purest, most fundamental and easiest form to understand.
Reductionism has faced criticism for oversimplifying complex phenomena, but it has also provided insight into complex systems. It comes down to when and how it is used. There is an obvious reductionism that exists in psychology, biology, and chemistry, that has provided valuable scientific insight. There is also a wide spread understanding that these major fields can be reduced to and are governed by the laws of physics.
One key idea that philosophical reductionists focus on, is the possibility for the unification of all science. This is most likely going to remain a work in progress for a very long time, because science still has a long way to go before it can be considered unified, and done so by a universally accepted system. When and if science reaches this point, there will probably still be a lot of fine tuning as time goes on.
Some on going debates in reductionism include, how to understand the relations between disciplines, how to communicate scientific theories and their progress, how to determine the legitimacy of reductionist research strategies, and it’s over all capabilities and limitations.
There is also the concept of emergence, which is the opposite of reduction. This acknowledges how the properties of reality evolves with time. A view to come out of emergentism is that a system can have properties or behaviors that none of the parts do, and as a result reductionism isn’t able to explain these types of features. This requires the study to take place in the realm of the system with the emergent feature.
When I wrote the blogs that ended up leading to me writing this book, I never mentioned the word reductionism. However, applying the idea was a common theme. This stems from something much older than the blogs. A concept I created to go along with my music. The basic idea is to have an album for each fundamental force, including The Unified Field, which is a statement claiming all the forces of the observable universe come from one super force. Once I started thinking about all the layers of reality, and the extaordinay hierarchy it consists of, I realized I had a very fruitful concept. I think it shows in the statement included with my album Unified Field.
“In the most fundamental reality there is a singular entity that gives rise to the universe, past, present, and future. It is the unified field. It vibrates in plancks constant creating spacetime, this is where leptons and quarks come from. Which make protons and neutrons to build atoms, then molecules and from this cells.”
Where the music concept is a claim on how the universe works, it comes from an emanating point of view, but because the blogs were and now this book is an explanation of the levels in reality, and an atempt to prove The Unified Field, it only makes sense to include a reductionist approach. Another thing to come out of the blogs was how I incorporated religion and culture. One of my intentions is to introduce an expanded reductionism that combines philosophy and science in a unique way.
Individually reductionism has probably been applied to just about everything. Some examples are linguistic, economic, aesthetic, ethical, and social reductionism. In mathematics, to go all the way with reductionism should bring us to a (TOE). In my expedition to find The Unified Field, I’m not only unifying reductionism, my goal is to implement a fresh, new point of view and manner in how to go about the process.