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.
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Review
"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
Book Description
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.

motw/Ockham's Razors_ A User's Manua - Elliott Sober.pdf

Sober, Elliott

Cambridge University Press (Virtual Publishing)

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

Cambridge, 2015

producers:
iText® 5.2.1 ©2000-2012 1T3XT BVBA

Memory of the World Librarian: Slowrotation

Evaluates Ockham's Razor, The Principle Of Parsimony Which States That Simpler Theories Are Better Than More Complex Ones, And Discusses Its Applications In A Variety Of Domains. A History Of Parsimony In Thin Slices (from Aristotle To Morgan) -- The Probabilistic Turn -- Parsimony In Evolutionary Biology--phylogenetic Inference -- Parsimony In Psychology--chimpanzee Mind-reading -- Parsimony In Philosophy. Elliott Sober. For Ezra William Didier-sober. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 291-308) And Index.

Contents 8
Acknowledgments 11
Introduction 12
1 A history of parsimony in thin slices (from Aristotle to Morgan) 15
2 The probabilistic turn 72
3 Parsimony in evolutionary biology – phylogenetic inference 164
4 Parsimony in psychology – chimpanzee mind-reading 218
5 Parsimony in philosophy 255
References 302
Index 320

2025-10-27