Term:reductionism
- pronounced [L] reductionism 1-1-1
Definitions[edit]
- A category of scientific models which seek to explain larger phenomena through the smaller components that assemble into them.
- represented by form [Form]
- reductionism
- uses or studies [Item] (FY)
- --
- signifier refers to model
- --
- formed from Lexemes [Sense / Lexeme] (RR)
- external Lexeme
- synonym
- --
- related or referenced term
- determinism (physics)
- emergence
- usage example
- --
- A philosophical framing which posits that the issues of one particular demographic identity can be used to create a model of all of society and prompts people to dismiss other theories or movements which do not incorporate it.
- represented by form [Form]
- reductionism
- sense link
- pronounced [L] reductionism (politics) (RR) 1-1-1
- field, scope, or group [Item]
- uses or studies [Item] (FY)
- --
- formed from Lexemes [Sense / Lexeme] (RR)
- reduce
- -ism
- synonym
- --
- related or referenced term
- determinism (physics)
- emergence
- usage example
- race pronounced [L] reductionism 1-1-1
- class pronounced [L] reductionism 1-1-1
Forms[edit]
- represented by form [Form]
- represented by form [Form]
- reductionism
- grammatical category
- abstract noun (N)
- represented by form [Form]
- represented by form [Form]
- reductionist
- grammatical category
- adjective (A)
Derived terms[edit]
- represented by form [Form]
- represented by form [Form]
- race reductionism
- grammatical category
- noun (N)
- represented by form [Form]
- represented by form [Form]
- class reductionism
- grammatical category
- noun (N)
Usage notes[edit]
The usage of "reductionism" in the sphere of politics is very interesting. While many people hurl this term at other movements or factions with a highly negative connotation, the sheer concept of designing a theory around one demographic identity would not actually seem to be a bad thing in and of itself which anyone would inherently expect to suggest a theory is doomed. Say there is a political theory which entirely begins with the experience of the United States Black population and the concept of racism, and refuses to begin integrating any other issues until it has first extended its theoretical model over every aspect of society. Philosophically, there is nothing preventing this theory from eventually deciding that it can use everything it has learned about racism to explain and advocate about other phenomena such as misogyny and class struggles from its own unique vantage point and framings, and becoming an intersectional theory; there is nothing necessarily saying that it is utterly impossible for people to begin with a theory which is only about racism, accumulate other issues, and eventually end up at a theory which was originally designed for the Black population but as it has accumulated better theorists has gradually morphed into a named Marxism. In fact, a meta-Marxist framework would suggest that this is the destiny of all philosophies practiced by anyone who actually cares about reality and the scientific method: no matter how specific of conditions a philosophy is originally created under, when people around the world are intellectually honest, all philosophies will gradually converge toward the same model of the world which ultimately says the same things. The outward coat of paint or "book cover" surrounding a philosophy does not necessarily dictate whether it can have correct content.
All of this is to say that if an anti-racist organization calls a Western-Marxist organization "class reductionist", and the Western-Marxists call the anti-racists "race reductionist", the actual error made in saying these things is more subtle than people might assume it is. The error is not in organizations not choosing to outwardly perform "talking about race enough" or "talking about class enough". The error actually lies in anti-racists not realizing that Marxism can be a theory of race and Marxists not realizing that a race-based theory can evolve into a class-based model of race relations which becomes more effective at explaining all class phenomena due to its knowledge about race; given the right molecularized theory of societal development, class phenomena simply produce race emergently and there ceases to be as great of a distinction between the two framings besides whether one subjectively wishes to call this class-race process by the word "class" or "race". The usage of "reductionism" really shows how inadequate all current philosophies are at understanding each other and leading each other into each other's goals.