Analysis vs. Synthesis
Difference between Analysis and Synthesis: – Analysis is a process of deduction or decomposition in which we reduce and examine something part by part. When it is analyzed, general ideas and concepts are broken down into smaller fragments, in order to arrive at a better understanding. Synthesis, on the other hand, is the solution between a series of conflicts between the thesis and the antithesis; the synthesis has as its final objective to make a new proposal, in other words, to synthesize is “to create”. Below this post is all about Difference between Analysis and Synthesis.
Difference between Analysis and Synthesis
Analysis derives from the Greek “analysis” that literally means “ruptura”. The analysis is mainly used when dealing with matters of Logic and Mathematics. Even before Aristotle, when students were asked to analyze certain subjects; were encouraged to establish relationships or connections between different ideas to discover the components of each. The relationship between each idea that was connected to the main theme was studied. The students had the task of detecting any element that would allow them to arrive at a correct conclusion regarding the subject that occupied them. All this was done with the purpose of avoiding the biases and assumptions that can always hurt an investigation.
On the other hand, synthesizing refers to something else. In order to follow the example of the students in ancient Greece, in this case the synthesis would be the elaboration of own concepts and ideas on the part of the students, around the subject that they treat and the information that they have analyzed.
The synthesis often takes elements of what is analyzed (both the thesis and the antithesis of the theme) and unites them to form something new.
The synthesis can take place in various aspects, chemical, philosophical; even in Botany it can be observed that plants perform the function of photosynthes, in which they use the energy of the sun as a catalyst to make an organic molecule from a simple carbon molecule.
In the case of Philosophy, synthesis is the end product of dialectics and is considered as a process greater than analysis. An example of philosophical synthesis is what Inmanuel Kant did when he introduced criticism, which came to be a synthesis between skepticism and dogmatism. Recall that dogmatism (not only refers to the religious as many people believe) posited that one could arrive at a truth or an absolute knowledge; while skepticism basically proposed (there are different degrees of skepticism and dogmatism) that one could not obtain a knowledge of things and that the human being could not reach the truth. Kantian criticism then synthesizes these two positions, proposing that one can arrive at knowledge; but that in order to achieve this goal one must do a deep analysis and decomposition of things.
The Key difference between synthesis and analysis is Synthesis is a superior process in which something new is created. The analysis is a decomposition of something general into smaller or particular fragments, in order to reach a greater understanding.
