Ockham's Razor and the Identity of Indiscernables
Philosophy Research Archives 14:405-414 (1988)
| Abstract | In this paper it is argued that The Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles can be justified as a concrete application of Ockham’s Razor, the maxim which enjoins us not to multiply entities beyond necessity. First, a statement of the Principle is presented, according to which the Principle, while interesting enough, is not logically necessary. It is then argued that the assumption of the falsity of the Principle prescribes an epistemological situation where it seems to be impossible to find grounds for thinking that the Principle is indeed false. Hence it is to be accepted as an epistemological necessity of sorts, one that recommended by the desire not to multiply entities beyond need | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | No categories specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,709 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesAnne Cutler & Dennis Norris (1999). Sharpening Ockham's Razor. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22 (1):40-41.
Simon Fitzpatrick (2013). Kelly on Ockham's Razor and Truth-Finding Efficiency. Philosophy of Science 80 (2):298-309.
E. C. Barnes (2000). Ockham's Razor and the Anti-Superfluity Principle. Erkenntnis 53 (3):353-374.
Zann Gill (forthcoming). The Other Edge of Ockham's Razor: The A-PR Hypothesis and the Origin of Mind. Biosemiotics:1-17.
Thomas D. Bontly (2005). Modified Occam's Razor: Parsimony, Pragmatics, and the Acquisition of Word Meaning. Mind and Language 20 (3):288–312.
Kevin T. Kelly (2004). Justification as Truth-Finding Efficiency: How Ockham's Razor Works. Minds and Machines 14 (4):485-505.
Kevin Kelly (2004). Justification as Truth-Finding Efficiency: How Ockham's Razor Works. Minds and Machines 14 (4):485-505.
Arnold Zellner, Hugo A. Keuzenkamp & Michael McAleer (eds.) (2001). Simplicity, Inference and Modeling: Keeping It Sophisticatedly Simple. Cambridge University Press.
Harald Walach & Stefan Schmidt (2005). Repairing Plato's Life Boat with Ockham's Razor: The Important Function of Research in Anomalies for Consciousness Studies. Journal of Consciousness Studies 12 (2):52-70.
Hauke Riesch (2010). Simple or Simplistic? Scientists' Views on Occam's Razor. Theoria 25 (1):75-90.
William A. Rottschaefer (2004). Religion's Evolutionary Landscape Needs Pruning with Ockham's Razor. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 27 (6):747-748.
Peter Forrest (2001). Counting the Cost of Modal Realism. In Gerhard Preyer (ed.), Reality and Humean Supervenience: Essays on the Philosophy of David Lewis. Rowman and Littlefield.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-12-02Total downloads5 ( #160,518 of 549,754 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,450 of 549,754 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
