Is Simplicity an Adequate Criterion of Theory Choice?

Göhner, Julia F.; Kaiser, Marie I.; Sandor, Christian

doi:10.1515/9783110326161.33

Cited by 2 publications

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“…There are also several critiques on this notion relating to Philosophy of Religion, specifically Swinburne's appeal to simplicity (Göhner, Kaiser and Suhm 2008;Korbmacher, Schmoranzer, and Seide 2008; Philipse 2012, 212-220, 245-255).…”

Section: Richard Swinburne Leads the Chargementioning

confidence: 99%

Mind-Independent Values Don’t Exist, But Moral Truth Does

Doorn

2017

EPH

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Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism publishes scholarly papers concerning philosophical, historical, or interdisciplinary aspects of humanism, or that deal with the application of humanist principles to problems of everyday life. EPH encourages the exploration of aspects and applications of humanism, in the broadest sense of "philosophical" as a search for self-understanding, life wisdom, and improvement to the human condition.The topic of humanism is also understood to embrace its thoughtful manifestations across the widest breadth of cultures and historical periods, and non-western perspectives are encouraged. Inquiry into humanism may also focus on its contemporary affirmation of a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms the ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity. EPH welcomes multi-disciplinary approaches that arouse broad interest across the humanities and social sciences, and inspire attention to novel and needed developments to humanistic thinking.

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Section: Richard Swinburne Leads the Chargementioning

confidence: 99%

Mind-Independent Values Don’t Exist, But Moral Truth Does

Doorn

2017

EPH

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“…The first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is Chaucer's Boethius ("simplicitie") (1374). 26 The suffix "ity" indicates an abstraction from a comparison.…”

Section: The Simplicity Of the Ancientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simplicity in science

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This dissertation investigates the possibility of justifying simplicity principles in science. The labor of these projects is organized into three chapters. The first chapter introduces some of the key authors and issues in the history of simplicity in science. This chapter also gives a detailed discussion of the work of the 19th century physicists Le Verrier and Newcomb who played a crucial role in setting the stage for Einstein's theory of relativity. These examples are used to illustrate points in the following chapters. However, they play a specific role in the first chapter to show serious problems with a view defended by an important contemporary author, Richard Swinburne, that one version of the principle of parsimony contributes to the probability that scientific theories will be true. The second chapter elucidates the problems involved in specifying and measuring the simplicity of scientific hypotheses and theories. Several twentieth century authors like Harold Jeffreys, Nelson Goodman, and Mario Bunge made significant contributions to the clarification and organization of various kinds of simplicity criteria. When simplicity criteria are employed in a scientific methodology, we find that simplicity judgments of one kind are always traded-off with simplicity judgments of another kind. We also find that the scientific project involves a delicate balancing of several aims. This analysis renders a valuable result: that some dogmas, in particular, the dogma that principles of parsimony are the final court of appeal in scientific theory selection must be jettisoned. I also find that it is misguided to ask the question of whether or not simplicity of some clearly specified

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Is Simplicity an Adequate Criterion of Theory Choice?

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Mind-Independent Values Don’t Exist, But Moral Truth Does

Mind-Independent Values Don’t Exist, But Moral Truth Does

Simplicity in science

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