Someone once quoted Shakespeare to the philosopher W. V. O. Quine: “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” The remark was meant as a put-down, a sort of “Yeah, what do you know?” To which Quine is said to have responded: “Possibly, but my concern is that there not be more things in my philosophy than are in heaven and earth.”
The principle of parsimony is a guideline in the formulation of scientific theories, stating that when many hypotheses are available to explain a given phenomenon, the simplest hypothesis with the fewest assumptions is preferable. Commonly phrased as Occam’s razor – “the simplest explanation is usually the correct one” – this principle cautions against adding unneeded complexity: “entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity”. This guidance encourages steering clear of constructing elaborate Rube Goldberg devices in the realm of theory, heaping on needless and extravagant ornamentation when simpler explanations will suffice to explain the evidence at hand. Continue reading
