What can be explained by the assumption of fewer things is vainly explained by the assumption of more things. The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct. No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary. “The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct.”, “With all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.”, “Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.”, “All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one.”, “Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.”, “Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate. William of Ockham. My God is the green tide in the spring leaves the redness of cherries high in the air the excitement of shooting stars the song of birds in summer branches the sunrise on a winter's morning the name of everything we don't understand. Every day we present the best quotes! It is not, therefore, necessary that he should excel in temporal power or abound in temporal riches, but it is enough that Christians should willingly obey him. (Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily. “Philosophical Writings: A Selection”, p.21, Hackett Publishing, William (of Ockham), Philotheus Boehner (1990). 'Opera Theologica' (1980) vol. 2. Plurality should not be assumed without necessity. Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything. Logic is the most useful tool of all the arts. Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate. Whenever two hypotheses cover the facts, use the simpler of the two. For only an assertion which is consonant with theology is truly catholic, and only one which is known to be opposed to theology is known to be heretical. Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate. )”, “The simplest explanation is usually the right one”, “When you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better.”, “It is futile to do with more what can be done with fewer.”, “Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate [Plurality must never be posited without necessity]”, “Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora [It is futile to do with more things that which can be done with fewer]”, “..et tamen nihil est sciens vel quiescens, nisi actualiter sit sciens vel quiescens.”, “Plurality is never to be posited without necessity.”, “Plurality should not be assumed without necessity”, “Omnis homo praeter Sortem currit, igitur Plato currit et sic de aliis a Sorte.”, Quaestiones et decisiones in quattuor libros Sententiarum Petri Lombardi, A Short Discourse on Tyrannical Government. Purely philosophical assertions which do not pertain to theology should not be solemnly condemned or forbidden by anyone, because in connection with such [assertions] anyone at all ought to be free to say freely what pleases him. Intuitive cognition of a thing is cognition that enables us to know whether the thing exists or does not exist, in such a way that, if the thing exists, then the intellect immediately judges that it exists and evidently knows that it exists, unless the judgment happens to be impeded through the imperfection of this cognition. Plurality is not to be posited without necessity. J. C. Way (ed.) Welcome back. With all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one. Intuitive cognition is such that when some things are cognized, of which one inheres in the other, or one is spatially distant from the other, or exists in some relation to the other, immediately in virtue of that non-propositional cognition of those things, it is known if the thing inheres or does not inhere, if it is spatially distant or not, and the same for other true contingent propositions, unless that cognition is flawed or there is some impediment. William of Ockham Quotes. For nothing ought to be posited without a reason given, unless it is self-evident (literally, known through itself) or known by experience or proved by the authority of Sacred Scripture. For just as a mechanic who lacks a complete knowledge of his tool gains a fuller [knowledge] by using it, so one who is educated in the firm principles of logic, while he painstakingly devotes his labor to the other sciences, acquires at the same time a greater skill at this art. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. First it must be known that only a spoken word or a conventional sign is an equivocal or univocal term; therefore a mental contentor concept is, strictly speaking, neither equivocal nor univocal. Goodreads helps you follow your favorite authors. For only an assertion which is consonant with theology is truly catholic, and only one which is known to be opposed to theology is known to be heretical.


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