Reductionism

Reductionism is a way of thinking which seeks clarity by reducing variables. It is the main paradigm employed by western science and technology. Reductionism as a philosophical position 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.

Limits of

Reductionism is in contrast to holism which uses systems thinking. In some systems, emergent properties of the system are almost impossible to predict from knowledge of the parts of the system. Other systems, particularly ecological systems, are so complex that it will not ever be possible to describe all their details.

Analogies

Telephoto lens vs. fisheye lens