Occam’s Razor and Ontology: The Art of Simplicity in Complexity
The world we live in is filled with complex ideas, systems, and concepts. Finding clarity amidst this complexity is a challenge philosophers, scientists, and thinkers have tackled for centuries. Two powerful philosophical principles that help us achieve this are Occam’s Razor and ontology. Together, they offer a toolset to better understand the essence of reality and solve complex problems. In this blog post, we’ll explore the meaning of Occam’s Razor and ontology, discover how these two principles are connected, and provide examples of how they are applied in practice. What is Occam’s Razor? Occam’s Razor, or the law of parsimony, is a philosophical principle dating back to the 14th-century English philosopher and theologian William of Ockham. The idea is simple: the simplest explanation that accounts for all the facts is preferred over more complex alternatives. In its original form, Ockham stated: “Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem,” which means: “Entities must not be multiplied unnecessarily.” This means that when seeking explanations, we should avoid making additional assumptions unless absolutely necessary. It is important to understand that Occam’s Razor does not guarantee that the simplest explanation is always correct. Rather, it is a heuristic—a tool for prioritizing simplicity until proven otherwise. […]