Single Idea 7508

[catalogued under 7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 2. Reduction]

Full Idea

Good reductionism (also called 'hierarchical reductionism') consists not of replacing one field of knowledge with another, but of connecting or unifying them.

Gist of Idea

Good reductionism connects fields of knowledge, but doesn't replace one with another

Source

Steven Pinker (The Blank Slate [2002], Ch.4)

Book Reference

Pinker,Steven: 'The Blank Slate' [Penguin 2003], p.70


A Reaction

A nice simple clarification. In this sense I am definitely a reductionist about mind (indeed, about everything). There is nothing threatening to even 'spiritual' understanding by saying that it is connected to the brain.