Reductionims

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Term Paper Title	Reductionims
# of Words	868
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.47

Reductionims

The concept of reductionism has become an overlooked part of our daily lives. The terms 'analytic' and 'reductionist' refer to a particular mental attitude or manner of thinking that has dominated the modern period and has replaced the synthetic and hierarchical pattern of thought. This transformation occurs in virtually every domain...including, theology, philosophy, literature, politics, economics, and art, but its typical seminal form is to be found in the sciences, the natural sciences. Before focusing on the effect of reductionism in the areas of art and science, it is important to first understand the difference between the synthetic and hierarchical pattern of thought and analytic and reductionist pattern.
The synthetic and hierarchical pattern of thought consolidates and integrates. Instead of reducing the explanation to a lower, more specific level, the whole belongs to a 'higher' level of being and meaning than the 'lower' level parts which it includes. This higher level includes and accounts for the existance of the lower level, therefore emphasizing mutual dependence. The parts, which cannot exist without the whole, are defined in terms of what lies above them rather than in terms of the elements from which they are constructed. This concept can be seen in the early stages of biology, for example, when emphasis was put on arranging species in a static system of taxonomy, and also in chemistry with Mendeleev's establishment of the periodic table.
The hierarchical approach is readily appearant in artwork from the Middle Ages and Renaissance period. Pierre Rosenberg wrote, "While this hierarchy of content is not understood today, it had a profound significance during an epoch in which painting sought to...have a profound meaning, elevate the spirit, present a moral lesson or serve as an example”. For example, this Rembrandt painting, Belshazzar's Feast, and shows the hierarchical pictorial organization that implicitly supports the content used in premodernist paintings. Our attention is drawn to certain areas of the painting more than others, for the emphasis centers on the bright spot whereas the humans who are all gazing there as well are less important and, therefore, secondary in focus. In premodernist paintings such as this one, the degree of hierarchization can be made evident by dividing the painting into a grid of squares and using a scale to number each square based on its importance within the painting. As will be shown, t...

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