Differentiate between elementism and reductionism and give an example of each.
Democritus is considered as the last Greek of the early cosmologists and proposed that all things are composed of minute and indivisible parts that are known as atoms. The differences among concepts are described in the terms of size, shape, location, number and arrangement of atoms. Humans are also considered to be as the bundles of atoms and the mind and soul is made up of smooth and highly mobile and charged atoms that provide the experiences about mental conditions.
According to Democritus, his viewpoint was deterministic by challenging to the inanimate, animate and cognitive events that ultimately affects the behavior of atoms and reduces atomic activity. His views were also incorporated into two major types of philosophical levels such as elementism and reductionism.
| Elementism | Reductionism |
| 1. In elementism, a matter was described in the terms of atoms and their activity. | 1. In reductionism, objects and events at one level are described in terms of different events on another level by describing the properties of atoms and their activity. |
| 2. It involves understanding a complex behavior by distinguishing into its simple observable parts. | 2. It includes two different domains of explaining objects. |
| 3. Common example includes attempting the understanding of different human thoughts by studying and isolating one process at a time. | 3. Major example involves attempting to explain the human behavior by studying biochemical processes in terms of physics. |