Reductionism or Holism?

[Xenolar]

Recently, I have been pondering over reductionism and holism--two opposite methods in perceiving the structure of systems. Some people naturally are inclined to the latter, and others to the former. After musing over the topic a little more, I began to wonder whether this was at all related to MBTI type. If so, I wonder, which of the two are INTJs in general more likely to be?

If you are not entirely familiar with either of the two concepts, here is a concise definition for each:
Reductionism: Understanding a system by breaking it down into the simpler parts that make up the whole.
Holism: Understanding a system by viewing it as a unified whole greater than the parts that it is composed of.

For more in-depth definitions, the respective wikipedia articles for a relatively long explanation:

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Which do you consider yourself to be?
What are your own opinions on the relation between these differences in perception and MBTI and/or brain wiring?

[bubbles]

I think the J would be more inclined to Reductionism (details...) and P would be more inclined to Wholism (general idea). I could be confusing S with J, but it's all a bit fuzzy to me. Personally, I think consider myself to be both if that's even possible. I think everything is connected in some way, but a "whole" is more than just mere parts. I also like to break things down and analyze them.

[karen]

I need tend to need to collect details before I can create a 'big picture' in my mind, but I don't have any spot in my mind for the details until I see the big picture... Everything just hits me at once a few seconds later like a smack on the forehead... I'm pretty sure thats reductionist but I'm not sure..

[errrzarrr]

Reductionism all the way bunny!

But are you sure that Reductionism and Holism are exactly mutually excluding.? I guess not, Maybe they are Complementary.

edit: Im sure you can't be reductionist/holist, Is just a major method you use to solve problems or explain something. The second is, I bet Reductionism/Holism is not related to personality/MBTI or something like that.

[OmegaPsi]

You cant understand the advanced mathmatical equations without first learning why 1+1=2. Also you cant make a system work to your advantage if you dont know how it works. So imo taking it apart and seeing what each thing does is the most advantageous.

[xhaan]

I personally tend to be Holist, but I recognize the need for both views in conjunction.

[vaguely dissatisfied]

Recently, I have been pondering over reductionism and holism--two opposite methods in perceiving the structure of systems. Some people naturally are inclined to the latter, and others to the former. After musing over the topic a little more, I began to wonder whether this was at all related to MBTI type. If so, I wonder, which of the two are INTJs in general more likely to be?

If you are not entirely familiar with either of the two concepts, here is a concise definition for each:
Reductionism: Understanding a system by breaking it down into the simpler parts that make up the whole.
Holism: Understanding a system by viewing it as a unified whole greater than the parts that it is composed of.

For more in-depth definitions, the respective wikipedia articles for a relatively long explanation:

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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Which do you consider yourself to be?
What are your own opinions on the relation between these differences in perception and MBTI and/or brain wiring?
Definately holistic!!!

[chocky]

Untempered reductionist methodology has been the bane of my existence, and has brought our planet to the brink... but now the wheel is turning, my star is in ascendance. And I've run out of hackneyed phrases.

[Doppelbock]

You need both reductionism and holism. Reductionism is necessary because complex systems are, um, well, complex. Reductionism helps us cope with the complexity by breaking things down into units that can be individually analyzed. But that very complexity makes it difficult to understand the overall system just by understanding the individual components; hence the need for holism.

DB (don't mess with me, i've taken systems science Ph.D. classes)