xpertklion.blogg.se - William of ockham quotations wikipedia

This assumption makes the problem simpler, but is unlikely to lead to a good prediction as to the time it will take for the feather to fall. In calculating how long it takes for the feather to reach the ground, to make the maths simpler, one might make an assumption: that the effect of air resistance can be ignored. Occam's razor tells us the wind blew the trees down, because this is the simplest answer therefore probably the right one.Įxample: A person is standing on the top of a roof and dropping a feather. Since this second explanation needs several assumptions to all be true, it is probably the wrong answer. Įven though both are possible, several other unlikely things would also need to happen for the meteorites to have knocked the trees down, for example: they would have to hit each other and not leave any marks.

Two meteorites have each taken one tree down and, after striking the trees, hit each other removing any trace of themselves.

Think about these two possible explanations: Examples Įxample: Two trees have fallen down during a windy night. In science, Occam's razor is used as an heuristic (general guiding rule or an observation) to guide scientists.

"Whenever possible, substitute constructions out of known entities for inferences to unknown entities".

Therefore, to the same natural effects we must, so far as possible, assign the same causes".

"We are to admit no more causes of natural things other than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.

Not only is Ptolemy earlier than Occam, but Occam's supposed wording cannot be found in any of his existing works.

"We consider it a good principle to explain the phenomena by the simplest hypothesis possible".

Other thinkers have come up with other versions:

If a more complex explanation does a better job than a simpler one, then you should use the complex explanation.Ī problem with Occam's razor is that the sentence is not really about things ( entia = entities), but about explanations or hypotheses. However, Occam's razor only applies when the simple explanation and complex explanation both work equally well. This means if there are several possible ways something might have happened, the way which uses the fewest guesses is probably the correct one. Plurality should not be posited without necessity.More things should not be used than are necessary.Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.William of Ockham supposedly (see below) wrote it in Latin: In Latin it is sometimes called lex parsimoniae, or "the law of briefness". William of Ockham, a Franciscan friar who studied logic in the 14th century, first made this principle well known. Occam's razor applies especially in the philosophy of science, but also appears in everyday life. Another way of saying it is that the more assumptions you have to make, the more unlikely an explanation. The explanation that requires the fewest assumptions is usually correct. Suppose an event has two possible explanations. Occam's razor (or Ockham's razor) is a principle from philosophy.