I wonder if there is actually a contingent of people who have Boyi’s “overextending/omitting variables” definition as a connotation for “reductionist,” and to what extent this affects how they view reductionist philosophy. It would certainly explain why “reductionist” is sometimes used as a snarl word.
I wonder if there is actually a contingent of people who have Boyi’s “overextending/omitting variables” definition as a connotation for “reductionist,” and to what extent this affects how they view reductionist philosophy. It would certainly explain why “reductionist” is sometimes used as a snarl word.
FWIW, I have heard the word used in exactly this kind of pejorative sense. I don’t know which usage is more common, generally.