May 7, 2016 06:12 AM
https://aeon.co/essays/are-scientific-th...re-simpler
EXCERPT: [...] In the 20th century, philosophers, statisticians and scientists have made progress on understanding why the simplicity of a theory is relevant to assessing what the world is like. Their justifications of Ockham’s Razor do not depend on theology, nor do they invoke the grandiose thesis that nature is simple. [...But...] Although parsimony is demonstrably relevant to forming judgments about what the world is like, there is in the end no unconditional and presuppositionless justification for Ockham’s Razor...
EXCERPT: [...] In the 20th century, philosophers, statisticians and scientists have made progress on understanding why the simplicity of a theory is relevant to assessing what the world is like. Their justifications of Ockham’s Razor do not depend on theology, nor do they invoke the grandiose thesis that nature is simple. [...But...] Although parsimony is demonstrably relevant to forming judgments about what the world is like, there is in the end no unconditional and presuppositionless justification for Ockham’s Razor...