Ockham's Razors

A User's Manual

Elliott Sober author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:23rd Jul '15

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Ockham's Razors cover

This book uses philosophy, science and probability to analyse why simpler theories are better than theories that are more complex.

The theory of Ockham's razor has a history dating back to Aristotle. In this book Elliott Sober presents a clear and multidimensional study of the various different incarnations of the theory including their history, the role which they play in several different sciences, and their importance to philosophical argumentation.Ockham's razor, the principle of parsimony, states that simpler theories are better than theories that are more complex. It has a history dating back to Aristotle and it plays an important role in current physics, biology, and psychology. The razor also gets used outside of science - in everyday life and in philosophy. This book evaluates the principle and discusses its many applications. Fascinating examples from different domains provide a rich basis for contemplating the principle's promises and perils. It is obvious that simpler theories are beautiful and easy to understand; the hard problem is to figure out why the simplicity of a theory should be relevant to saying what the world is like. In this book, the ABCs of probability theory are succinctly developed and put to work to describe two 'parsimony paradigms' within which this problem can be solved.

'Sober's treatment of the role of Ockham's razor in scientific methodology is, quite simply, the best that one can find in the philosophical literature today. With excursions into such diverse topics as model construction, Bayesian statistics, phylogenetic inference, philosophy of mind, and general philosophical methodology, readers of all stripes will find this book rewarding.' James M. Joyce, Cooper Harold Langford Collegiate Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
'Ockham's Razors is a great book that philosophers, scientists, and anyone else interested in reasoning about the empirical world would do well to read carefully.' Daniel Steel, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
'A flawless crash course in probability theory is expertly delivered at the outset, providing the casual reader with everything needed to grapple with the fairly technical discussions that follow.' Tom Graham, The Times Literary Supplement
'I view this monograph as an ideal introduction to Sober's philosophy. This is helped by [his] clear and entertaining style of writing: Ockham's Razors is a pleasure to read. As such, I recommend the book to any graduate student with interests in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of probability or the philosophy of biology. Furthermore, the book is suitable for a graduate seminar on Ockham's razor and individual chapters can be used for specialist graduate courses in the philosophy of probability, the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of mind.' Bengt Autzen, Philosophy of Science
'It is an impressive work - well worth reading for philosophers and scientists from a number of different fields and essential reading for philosophers of science interested in scientific epistemology.' Joel Velasco, Mind

  • Short-listed for PROSE Award for Philosophy 2016

ISBN: 9781107692534

Dimensions: 247mm x 175mm x 15mm

Weight: 660g

322 pages