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Single Idea 15787

[filed under theme 2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 6. Ockham's Razor ]

Full Idea

It might be said that Ockham's Razor is a purely aesthetic principle.

Gist of Idea

Maybe Ockham's Razor is a purely aesthetic principle

Source

William Lycan (The Trouble with Possible Worlds [1979], 02)

Book Ref

'The Possible and the Actual', ed/tr. Loux,Michael J. [Cornell 1979], p.281


A Reaction

I don't buy this, if it meant to be dismissive of the relevance of the principle to truth. A deep question might be, what is so aesthetically attractive about simplicity? I'm inclined to think that application of the Razor has delivered terrific results.