THE FINAL WORD
PEACH IM MENT WHAT A 14TH CENTURY MONK CAN TELL US ABOUT
“ n the weeks ahead, you’re going to hear a lot about the need to protect our democracy. Both sides of the political aisle will point at the other, claiming transgressions that shake the country to its constitutional foundation. The overblown rhetoric of the impeachment inquiry will become a cacophony of partisan outrage. To put all of this into clearer context, let’s turn to a neutral observer... No, not the mainstream media. Anyone paying attention should understand that America’s cable news channels and major newspapers are almost entirely staffed with political activists posing as journalists. The neutral observer I’m talking about is William of Ockham, a Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher from 14th century England.
Boiled down: The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.
“You mean the razor guy?” you are no doubt wondering. Indeed. William is credited with giving the world the heuristic of “Occam’s razor” (almost as elegant of an innovation as OneBlade.) William explained this concept at length and applied it in many contexts back in the late medieval period. As he described it, “Plurality must never be posited without necessity.” Put into action, Occam’s razor means you must slice away unnecessary assumptions in an argument with two competing conclusions and favor the simplest form.
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October 2019
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