---
id: wiki-2026-0508-atomism
title: Atomism
category: 10_Wiki/Topics
status: verified
canonical_id: self
aliases: [Logical Atomism, Reductionism, Atomic Decomposition]
duplicate_of: none
source_trust_level: A
confidence_score: 0.86
verification_status: applied
tags: [philosophy, reductionism, decomposition, design, software-architecture]
raw_sources: []
last_reinforced: 2026-05-10
github_commit: pending
tech_stack:
  language: TypeScript/Python
  framework: design-systems
---

# Atomism

## 매 한 줄
> **"매 whole 의 indivisible part 의 sum — 매 understand 의 decompose."**. Atomism 의 ancient Greek (Democritus, Leucippus) origin → modern logical atomism (Russell, early Wittgenstein) → 2026 의 software (atomic design, atom CSS, atomic commit, atomic transaction) 의 ubiquitous design principle.

## 매 핵심

### 매 Philosophical Roots
- **Democritus (~460 BC)**: matter 의 indivisible atom.
- **Russell's logical atomism (1918)**: world 의 logical atom (sense data) 의 사실.
- **Wittgenstein's Tractatus**: atomic facts → propositions.
- **Reductionism**: complex → simple components.
- **Counter**: holism (Quine), emergence — 매 whole > sum.

### 매 Software Atomism
- **Atomic design (Brad Frost)**: atom → molecule → organism → template → page.
- **Atomic CSS (Tailwind, UnoCSS)**: utility class 의 single property.
- **Atomic commit (Git)**: 1 commit = 1 logical change.
- **Atomic transaction (DB)**: ACID 의 A — all-or-nothing.
- **Atomic operation (concurrency)**: indivisible CPU instruction (CAS).

### 매 응용
1. Component-driven UI (Storybook, Bit).
2. Microservice / function decomposition.
3. Test atomicity (1 test = 1 assertion principle).
4. Knowledge management (atomic note, Zettelkasten).

## 💻 패턴

### Pattern 1 — Atomic design (React)

```tsx
// atom
export const Button = ({ children, ...p }) =>
  <button className="px-3 py-1 rounded" {...p}>{children}</button>;

// molecule
export const SearchBar = () => (
  <div className="flex gap-2">
    <Input placeholder="search" />
    <Button>Go</Button>
  </div>
);

// organism
export const Header = () => (
  <header><Logo /><SearchBar /><UserMenu /></header>
);
```

### Pattern 2 — Atomic CSS (Tailwind)

```html
<button class="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-600 rounded text-white">
  Submit
</button>
```

### Pattern 3 — Atomic commit (Git)

```bash
# BAD: 1 commit, 3 unrelated changes
git commit -m "fix bug + refactor + add feature"

# GOOD: 3 atomic commits
git add src/bug.ts && git commit -m "fix: null check in parse"
git add src/utils/ && git commit -m "refactor: extract helper"
git add src/feature.ts && git commit -m "feat: add export csv"
```

### Pattern 4 — Atomic CAS (Rust)

```rust
use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};

let counter = AtomicUsize::new(0);
counter.compare_exchange(0, 1, Ordering::SeqCst, Ordering::SeqCst).ok();
```

### Pattern 5 — Atomic note (Zettelkasten)

```markdown
# 20260510-1432-recursive-decomposition

매 problem 의 self-similar subproblem 의 split → solve → combine.
대표 의 merge sort, quicksort, divide-and-conquer.

→ [[20260509-2210-master-theorem]]
→ [[20260510-1450-dynamic-programming]]
```

## 매 결정 기준

| 상황 | Approach |
|---|---|
| UI design | Atomic design hierarchy |
| Styling | Atomic CSS (Tailwind/UnoCSS) |
| VCS | Atomic commit |
| Concurrency | atomic primitives + lock-free |
| Notes | Atomic note (1 idea / file) |
| Architecture | weigh atomism vs holism (some properties emergent) |

**기본값**: atomic decomposition + holistic review (avoid reductionist trap).

## 🔗 Graph
- 부모: [[Reductionism]] · [[Philosophy-of-Science]]
- 변형: [[Holism]] · [[Emergence]] · [[Logical-Atomism]]
- 응용: [[Atomic-Design]] · [[Atomic-CSS]] · [[Atomic-Commit]] · [[Zettelkasten]]
- Adjacent: [[Composition-over-Inheritance]] · [[Single-Responsibility-Principle]]

## 🤖 LLM 활용
**언제**: design system creation, refactoring monolith, documentation structure, knowledge graph.
**언제 X**: irreducibly emergent system (consciousness, ecosystem), tightly-coupled domain logic.

## ❌ 안티패턴
- **Reductionist fallacy**: 매 whole 의 part 의 sum 의 X — emergence 무시.
- **Over-atomization**: 100 utility classes for 1 button — readability collapse.
- **Atomic worship**: 매 every commit atomic 의 over-engineer (squash merge available).
- **Lost-context note**: atomic note 의 link 없음 — 매 island.

## 🧪 검증 / 중복
- Verified (Russell "Philosophy of Logical Atomism", Brad Frost "Atomic Design", classical CS).
- 신뢰도 A.

## 🕓 Changelog
| 날짜 | 변경 |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Phase 1 |
| 2026-05-10 | Manual cleanup — FULL content (philosophy + 5 software patterns) |
