I. rə̇ˈdəkshəˌnizəm, rēˈ- noun
( -s )
: a procedure or theory of reducing complex data or phenomena to simple terms ; especially : oversimplification
materialism and idealism have been criticized as reductionisms
the phenomenalistic reductionism according to which statements about objects or the physical world can be translated into statements about sense-data or immediate experience
II. noun
: the attempt to explain all biological processes by the same explanations (as by physical laws) that chemists and physicists use to interpret inanimate matter ; also : the theory that complete reductionism is possible
• reductionist noun