Single Idea 10471

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

Full Idea

One might give Ockham's Razor a bit more content by advising belief in only those entities which are causally efficacious.

Gist of Idea

Ockham's Razor has more content if it says believe only in what is causal

Source

Alex Oliver (The Metaphysics of Properties [1996], §03)

Book Reference

-: 'Mind' [-], p.8


A Reaction

He cites Armstrong as taking this line, but I immediately think of Shoemaker's account of properties. It seems to me to be the only account which will separate properties from predicates, and bring them under common sense control.