occams razor
see definition of occams razorSynonyms for occams razor
noun nominalism principle- Ockham's razor
- law of parsimony
- premise
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Word Origin & History
when two competing hypotheses explain the data equally well, choose the simpler. Or, as Sir William Hamilton puts it, "Neither more, nor more onerous, causes are to be assumed, than are necessary to account for the phenomena." Named for English philosopher William of Ockham or Occam (c.1285-c.1349), who expressed it with Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter ncccssitatem.