The stronger claim that higher-level explanations can or should be replaced by explanations in terms of more basic components and their interactions.
A claim about what entities and processes are made of, distinguished from a claim that every useful explanation must be expressed at the microscopic level.

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Reductionism is a philosophical and scientific approach that seeks to understand complex systems by breaking them down into their simpler, more fundamental components. The idea is that by studying the individual parts, one can gain insights into the behavior and properties of the whole system. Reductionism can be applied in various fields, including: 1. **Philosophy of Science:** In this context, reductionism often involves explaining higher-level phenomena in terms of lower-level scientific theories.