In the endless debates between Jens Rasmussen and Glen
Gordon, Ockham's Razor has been frequently mentioned
(and used, though mostly if not exclusively by Glen).
There already have been posts about this technique,
but perhaps some simple restatements would be in
order. Ockham himself likes to utilize two versions of
his principle, viz., "pluralitas non est ponenda sine
necessitate et sine ratione". and "frustra fit per
plura que aeque bene possunt fieri per pauciora".
This, of course, is not a committment to the
"simplest" solution to a given problem unless such a
solution is "necessary" and "reasonable" (by this
Ockham usually means a solution which totally
satisfies the givens of the issue and which is
irrefutable). The Razor is applied to settle which of
two or many answers to a problem are preferable. If
there are two or more answers to a problem which are
all "necessary" and "reasonable", then one opts for
the simplest. If there are many plausible but not
necessary answers to a problem one does not use the
Razor. It becomes irrelevant in context.
Note that in Ockham's time, one of his favourite
opponents was Walter de Chatton (d. 1343) who liked to
use the following principle in his disputations, which
subsequent interpreters have dubbed "Chatton's
Anti-Rasorium": "quando propositio est vera pro rebus,
si res permanentes non sufficiunt ad eius veritatem
oportet addere aliquid ultra." But in reality this
"anti-rasorium" is simply another form of the
"rasorium". It is called "anti-rasorium" because it is
utilized against those thinkers who place "simplicity"
above all else.
Applying this to the discussion between Glen and Jens,
one has to ask: is Glen's solution "reasonable" and
"necessary"? Does it "suffice"? is Jen's solution
"reasonable" and "necessary"? Does it "suffice"? If
the answer to all these questions is "yes" then
Ockham's Razor may be invoked to favour the simpler
solution. But if the simpler solution is not
"necessary" or "reasonable" (because it omits
something essential) then Chatton's Anti-Razor would
come into play. And if the more complex solution is
not "necessary" or "reasonable", then it would need to
be abandoned not on the basis of the application of
Ockham's Razor, but simply because it is neither
necessary nor reasonable...
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