Q&A: Occam’s Razor
Occam’s Razor
Question
With God’s help,
Hello Rabbi, have a good week and happy holidays.
Recently, in the media, among those defending the Jewish religion against the cooling-off tendencies of the Amalekism of our generation, a new doctrine has been heard that supposedly leads almost certainly to belief in God. One of the new tactics is to challenge “Occam’s Razor,” both as an epistemological tool and as a methodological tool. On the face of it, challenging Occam’s Razor is understandable, since it is a pretentious tool that people have tried to justify in many ways, and usually most of those attempts have failed. But there is a sting in the tail: the theological dangers of such a challenge are also something worth taking into account—from fairies and demons to sorcery and all sorts of harmful things.
So I wanted to ask the Rabbi: do you think this is a correct tactic?
And second, is there a good reason to believe in the simplicity of the world? Or is this a metaphysical foundational assumption about all of creation that we have no right to question?
A kosher and happy Passover.
Answer
I am not familiar with this tactic. Challenges to the razor have been raised by many people from all directions. I also oppose forming a position regarding a philosophical or logical principle based on whether it poses some danger or is useful for something. Philosophical principles should be examined on their own merits.
As for your question itself, see my article about it here:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%AA%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%95-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9D/
Thank you very much for the response and the reference,
it can be found in the media outlets of the Mizrachi movement. I worry that naming the person challenging it (I think it’s more of a group) would be gossip.
I don’t completely agree with your claim. I seem to remember that they bring something like this from Michtav Me’Eliyahu. In any case, I’ll ask there on the article.