reductionistic
Breaking down complexly
Reductionistic describes an approach that explains complex phenomena by breaking them down into simpler components.
The term often carries a critical edge—implying that something important gets lost when you reduce a whole to its parts: His reductionistic view of consciousness as mere brain chemistry ignores the richness of lived experience.
Scientists may use reductionistic methods productively; critics use the word to suggest oversimplification.
Broken into discrete units
- mechanisticViewing systems as machines
- deterministicCompletely caused by prior conditions
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
- physicalismAll is matter
positivism · empiricism · monism · naturalism · rationalism · objectivism · scientism · nominalism
Made misleadingly basic
- one-dimensionalWithout depth or complexity
- narrowOf small width
- myopicUnable to see far
- tunnel visionInability to see periphery
black-and-white · either-or · crude · facile · superficial · shallow · stripped-down · bare-bones
Excessive frugality with resources
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- quantifiableAble to be measured
- empiricalBased on observation, not theory
testable · falsifiable · predictive · explanatory · causality · measurement · isolation · dissection
Showing contemptuous disregard
- pejorativeTerm expressing disapproval
- belittlingExpressing contempt or dismissiveness
- underminingWeakening by covert means
- dehumanizingDenying inherent worth
soulless · cold · clinical · sterile · mechanizing · decontextualizing · fragmenting · impoverishing
atomistic
Broken into discrete units
- mechanisticViewing systems as machines
- deterministicCompletely caused by prior conditions
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
physicalism · positivism · empiricism · monism · naturalism · rationalism · objectivism · scientism · nominalism · foundationalism
oversimplified
Made misleadingly basic
- one-dimensionalWithout depth or complexity
- narrowOf small width
- myopicUnable to see far
tunnel vision · black-and-white · either-or · crude · facile · superficial · shallow · stripped-down · bare-bones · cookie-cutter
parsimony
Excessive frugality with resources
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- quantifiableAble to be measured
empirical · testable · falsifiable · predictive · explanatory · causality · measurement · isolation · dissection · abstraction
dismissive
Showing contemptuous disregard
- pejorativeTerm expressing disapproval
- belittlingExpressing contempt or dismissiveness
- underminingWeakening by covert means
dehumanizing · soulless · cold · clinical · sterile · mechanizing · decontextualizing · fragmenting · impoverishing · scientistic
reductionisticholistic
Addressing interconnected wholes
integrative · wholistic · synthetic · gestalt · synergistic
reductionisticholistic
Addressing interconnected wholes
comprehensive · expansive · pluralistic · nuanced · complex