Rather, he was advocating that one should not propose any more causes than are necessary to account for any phenomenon.
This concept has been inappropriately restated as ‘All things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.’ 1 However, Ockham was not claiming that nature always follows the simplest course, nor that a simple explanation trumps a better, more complex one nor yet that simplicity should overrule the need to explain all the data. Ockham’s razor is a phrase that in Latin is usually rendered Entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate, which translates as: ‘Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity’. Even though he did not invent this idea, he used it so effectively that it came to bear his name. However, he is better known today for the problem-solving logical principle known as ‘Ockham’s razor’. He opposed the church leadership of his day because they had abandoned clear Bible teaching and instead sought power, influence, and wealth. simply Ockham (sometimes spelled ‘Occam’), was a Bible-believing 14 th-century English philosopher. Occam's razor should be a guide and not a rule.William of Ockham ‘ The first Protestant’
In addition, it is difficult to pare away information without risk of throwing out something crucial to the theory. Both hypotheses fitted the observed data, and only the Michelson-Morley experiment swung opinion towards Special Relativity. For example, it may not always be possible to determine which of a number of conflicting theories is correct, without the benefit of hindsight.Īt the turn of the century, Einstein's supporters, and believers in ether, could not have known the simplest theory for the nature of light. There are some criticisms of Occam's razor. For example, Ptolemy's epicycles were replaced by a simpler theory, which explained the data without multiplying elements. Occam's razor is often at the root of paradigm shift, where an established theory is replaced by a simpler alternative that also fits the data. This is not the same as saying that it is proved, only that it is best to investigate the simplest theory first. Therefore, using Occam's razor, the NASA argument should be regarded as correct. The conspiracy line of reasoning contains too many suppositions: "If this happened, then this may have happened." Too many 'ifs' is a sign that a statement needs 'Occamizing' and clarifying. Their justification relies upon many twisted and convoluted theories, whereas the NASA argument is fairly straightforward. Many conspiracy theorists believe that the first Moon Landing was staged and filmed in a studio, part of an elaborate hoax. One famous example of Occam's razor in action is found in conspiracy theories surrounding the NASA moon landings. Science often works in a process of leaps, so even if the first option is proved wrong, the next one may achieve results. Put it this way, if a research foundation is giving out money for research is it going to go for the complex and expensive research program, or the cheaper and most likely explanation? In fact, the more complex hypothesis prediction may be the correct one. It is a 'heuristic maxim,' commonly known as a rule of thumb, guiding research down the easiest course. Occam's razor is not part of the reasoning process, as such, because it makes no definition of the relative strength of a theory. If you have a few hypotheses that could explain an observation, it is usually best to start with the simplest one. In science, it is getting rid of all the assumptions that make no difference to the predictions of the hypothesis. Occam's razor is the process of paring down information to make finding the truth easier. Researchers should avoid 'stacking' information to prove a theory if a simpler explanation fits the observations. The 'correct' interpretation is that entities should not be multiplied needlessly. Occam's razor is more commonly described as 'the simplest answer is most often correct,' although this is an oversimplification.
Whilst it is likely that the philosophy was posthumously attributed to him, as it was based upon common medieval philosophy, it seems to be a result of his minimalist lifestyle.
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