Simple is not easy

Abstract

I review and challenge the views on simplicity and its role in linguistics put forward by Ludlow (The philosophy of generative linguistics, 2011). In particular, I criticize the claim that simplicity-in the sense pertinent to science-is nothing more than ease of use or "user-friendliness", motivated by economy of (cognitive) labor. I argue that Ludlow's discussion fails to do justice to the diversity of factors that are relevant to simplicity considerations. This, in turn, leads to the neglect of crucial cases in which the rationale for simplification is unmistakably epistemic, as well as instances where simplicity is part of the content of substantive, empirical hypotheses. I illustrate these points with examples from the history of generative linguistics, such as: (a) the shaping influence exerted by simplicity, via its involvement in the notion of "linguistically significant generalization", (b) its methodological and substantive contribution to the goal of explanatory adequacy, and (c) its central role in the Minimalist Program's search "beyond explanatory adequacy".

Simplicity of what? A case study from generative linguistics

“…In what follows, unless otherwise indicated any mention of simplicity should be understood to refer to theory-simplicity.28 See e.g Baker (2003),Barnes (2000),Schindler (2018). and Van Fraassen (1980).29 To repeat, generativists have very rarely engaged with this debate; to our knowledge, the only two exceptions areBarrios (2016) andLudlow (2011), more about which in Sect. 5.3.…”

Oversimplification in Philosophy

“…Thus, they contribute additional information, not merely an efficient way of deploying or accessing old information." (Barrios, 2016(Barrios, : p. 2277. He concludes: "Nevertheless, it is clear that… there are genuine notions of simplicity apart from the notion 'simple to use', which are not pursued for the sake of reducing labor… It was also noted that simplicity was a requirement for our understanding of phenomena, by making previously opaque phenomena intelligible or by being an essential factor in the search for deeper explanations and more unified accounts."…”

“…He concludes: "Nevertheless, it is clear that… there are genuine notions of simplicity apart from the notion 'simple to use', which are not pursued for the sake of reducing labor… It was also noted that simplicity was a requirement for our understanding of phenomena, by making previously opaque phenomena intelligible or by being an essential factor in the search for deeper explanations and more unified accounts." (Barrios, 2016(Barrios, : p. 2302. Open Journal of Philosophy our understanding of the world 2 .…”