Razor (philosophy)
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In philosophy, a razor is a principle or premise that allows one to eliminate unlikely explanations for a phenomenon.[1]
Useful razors include:
- Occam's razor: when faced with competing hypotheses, select the one that makes the fewest assumptions
- Popper's falsifiability principle: a theory can be scientific only if it is falsifiable
- Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.[2]
- Hitchens' razor: the burden of proof or onus in a debate lies with the claim-maker, and if he or she does not meet it, the opponent does not need to argue against the unfounded claim
- Newton's flaming laser sword: If something cannot be settled by experiment then it is not worthy of debate
Some philosophers have proposed anti-razors. Examples include:
- Plenitude principle, which asserts that everything that can happen will happen eventually
References
- ^ See Occam's razor at A.Word.A.Day
- ^ "Hanlon's Razor". TV Tropes. TV Tropes Foundation, LLC. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
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