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Making a case for constructive reductionism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

Christian P. Müller
Christian P. Müller*
Affiliation:
Section of Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. christian.mueller@uk-erlangen.dehttp://www.psychiatrie.uk-erlangen.de/wir_ueber_uns/mitarbeiter/prof_dr_rer_nat_christian_p_mueller/index_ger.html
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Abstract

Borsboom and colleagues argue that reductionism in psychopathology research has not provided the expected insights. Instead, they suggest a systems approach of interacting syndromes, which, however, falls short of a perspective for empirical testing. Here, a combination of both approaches is suggested: a reductionistic empirical approach allowing testability, synergistic with a constructivistic systems appraisal of syndrome networks – a constructive reductionism.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e16
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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