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This is more of a terminology question regarding the definition of reductive explanation. Suppose that it turned out there is a reductive explanation for consciousness to the physical, but the explanation exceeds any form of human understanding, yet this explanation would be understood by a superbeing. Does this still count as reductive explanation? If so, does that mean reductive explanation transcends human understanding and every instance of reductive explanation is more of a Platonist concept? I would appreciate if you could include any cited materials in your answer. Cheers.

Shandy
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  • There's a leap here. One reduction has property x, so all reductions have property x. – Richard May 03 '19 at 01:14
  • It's pure semantics: what does "reductive" mean? Is it an objective term or anthropocentric? What counts as an "explanation"? – christo183 May 03 '19 at 06:32
  • @Richard could you elaborate? – Shandy May 03 '19 at 15:22
  • @christo183 I agree. I feel as if the haziness of the terminology should obstruct the usage of the technique in some sense, until more well-defined terminology is in place -- terminology that would elucidate the discussion of my post. – Shandy May 03 '19 at 15:25
  • @ShandySulen your question refers to one hypothetical reductive explanation (one that is too complex for humans to understand) and then goes on to ask if every reductive explanation is the same. The answer to that is no. – Richard May 03 '19 at 15:33
  • @Richard I see. So would you say that reductive explanation can be broken down into subtypes? – Shandy May 03 '19 at 16:04
  • @ShandySulen yes. There are as many explanations are there are questions surely? – Richard May 03 '19 at 16:10
  • No. If it exceeds our understanding there is no sense to saying that it is reductive, or an explanation. But the idea is behind the notion of supervenience. As Dupre put it:"There is presumably some set of facts that could be known that would permit the inference... Perhaps we could not, even in principle, know these facts. But God, I suppose, would need merely to exist in order to know them." – Conifold May 04 '19 at 04:25

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