- The idea of seeking to explain a complex phenomenon by examining one of it's more elementary versions. - For example instead of studying the human genome one might study a worm's genome and draw insights from it. ---- Reductionism, taken from the Latin word reducere, “to lead back,” does not necessarily imply analysis on a more limited scale. Scientific reductionism often seeks to explain a complex phenomenon by examining one of its components on a more elementary, mechanistic level. - [[Reductionism in Art and Brain Science]]