William of Ockham
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William of Ockham or Occam was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher and theologian. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the majo
Sketch labelled "frater Occham iste", from a manuscript of Ockham's Summa Logicae, 1341
Saint Augustine by Philippe de Champaigne
St thomas aquinas FXD
Duns Scotus Painting
Occam's razor
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In philosophy, Occam's razor is the problem-solving principle that recommends searching for explanations constructed with the smallest possible set of elements. It is also known as the principle of pa
William of Ockham
…controversies of the 14th century. The nominalists of the fifteenth century regarded him as one of the founders of their movement. He is widely known for Occam's razor, the methodological principle that bears his name. He produced significant works on logic, physics and theology. Ockham is remembered in the Church of…
Part of a page from John Duns Scotus's book Commentaria oxoniensia ad IV libros magistri Sententiarum, showing the words: "Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate", i.e., "Plurality is not to be posited without necessity"
Possible explanations can become needlessly complex. It might be coherent, for instance, to add the involvement of leprechauns to any explanation, but Occam's razor would prevent such additions unless they were necessary.
Andreas Cellarius's illustration of the Copernican system, from the Harmonia Macrocosmica (1660). Future positions of the sun, moon and other solar system bodies can be calculated using a geocentric model (the earth is at the centre) or using a heliocentric model (the sun is at the centre). Both work, but the geocentric model requires a much more complex system of calculations than the heliocentric model. This was pointed out in a preface to Copernicus's first edition of