Reduction (philosophy)

Reduction in philosophy is like breaking apart a Lego set into smaller pieces to understand how it works. Just like how you can take a car apart and see how the engine, wheels, and steering wheel all work together to make the car move, philosophers use reduction to break apart bigger ideas or concepts into smaller ones to understand how they work.

For example, if we wanted to understand what makes a chair, we can reduce it to its individual parts like the legs, seat, and backrest. By understanding how each part works together, we can then understand what makes a chair a chair. Similarly, reduction in philosophy helps us understand complex topics by breaking them down into smaller parts and understanding how they work together to create the bigger picture.