8 William of Ockham was careful not to deny complex explanations, but merely suggested that we should suspend judgment on them. Ockham was a nominalist, which in his case, meant that he tried to reduce his ontological categories to a bare minimum.
William of Ockham was a prominent philosopher of the 14th century. 7Īlthough many philosophists were familiar with the concept of simplicity, it is William of Ockham who is most often associated with the heuristic. His theory was that what is simplest is what adheres to nature, and that since the idea of God is naturally implanted in our minds, it is the simplest explanation. He suggested that the simplest theory about Earth’s creation was that God created it. Aquinas believed that Occam’s razor helped prove the existence of God. Thomas Aquinas is a philosopher whose work is most often associated with Occam’s razor. ontological simplicity, which is about limiting the number and complexity of things the hypothesis is said to explain.syntactic simplicity, which is about limiting the number and complexity of hypotheses.Philosophers suggested that there were two different ways to employ simplicity: Thomas Aquinas stated, “ if a thing can be done adequately by means of one, it is superfluous to do it by means of several.” 6 The logic is clear: if there is a simpler, easier way to explain something, why wouldn’t we use that explanation? As Italian philosopher St. 6 Perhaps the first known statement on the matter was spoken by Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, when he stated that “ we may assume the superiority, ceteris paribus, of the demonstration which derives from fewer postulates or hypotheses.” 6 This rule of thumb has been employed throughout history, with many philosophers and scientists agreeing that, all other things being equal, the simpler theory is better. Occam’s razor can be boiled down to the concept that it’s best to keep things simple. It suggests that ideas are usually connected in the simplest or most economically sound way possible. Parsimony: the quality of being frugal with explanations. Occam’s Duct Tape: the opposite of Occam’s razor: an approach to problems with an absurd number of assumptions. 5 It boils down generalities to their simpler items and therefore, philosophers that are nominalists often employ Occam’s razor.
Nominalism: a philosophical theory that suggests reality is only made up of particular items, not of general entities. Ad hoc hypotheses unnecessarily complicate theories and are discarded according to Occam’s razor. Depending on the context, heuristics can help or hinder our decision-making.Īd Hoc Hypothesis: hypotheses or assumptions added to an ‘old theory’ to prevent the theory from being thrown out due to new conflicting evidence. Heuristic: mental shortcuts that help us make judgments of probabilities. They are mental tricks that aren’t right 100% of the time but often enough that they are worth using. Razor: philosophical ‘razors’ are principles or rules of thumb that allow us to ‘shave off’ unlikely explanations for a phenomenon. It is simply a heuristic that helps guide philosophers, scientists and policymakers on how best to approach a phenomenon. 1 However, it is important to note that favoring the simpler explanation does not mean it is true. This rule of thumb is known as Occam’s razor, and helps us eliminate overly elaborate theories as they are impenetrable and hard to prove or disprove. It turns out, even when it comes to more complex matters - like scientific theories or philosophical dilemmas - we tend to favor the simple explanation over the complicated one. Text B is a simple explanation and gets straight to the point, making us more likely to believe and accept it. Can we reschedule drinks?ĭespite the fact that Text A has more precise details, we are likely to feel annoyed by the overwhelming amount of information and excuses our friend is presenting. Text B: Hey, my stomach is feeling a little weird.
My grandma also hasn’t been doing so well recently so if I do have spare time I should go check in on her. I also think I’ll be staying at the office later than expected because I was just assigned to this huge project. Text A: Sorry to do this, but my stomach is feeling weird and I have a bit of a fever and don’t think I’m up for a drink. A couple of hours before, you get one of the following texts: Imagine you have plans with your friend to go grab a drink after work.
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