atomism

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun (psychology) a theory that reduces all mental phenomena to simple elements (sensations and feelings) that form complex ideas by association
noun (chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles

From atom + -ism.

(1) The belief in indestructible "things" very early took the form of atomism. — Our Knowledge of the External World as a Field for Scientific Method in Philosophy, Bertrand Russell
This, of course, is the extreme development of the "individual" side of Leibniz's doctrine, resulting in a most pronounced atomism. — Leibniz's New Essays Concerning the Human Understanding: A Critical Exposition, John Dewey
It was pretty much on the same lines that the older atomism sought, besides the operating "power," the material particle wherein it resides and out of which it operates--the atom. — Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

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