LIFE IS SIMPLE

The profound influence of Occam’s razor on the development of science, from astronomy to zoology.

Occam’s razor, the brainchild of Franciscan friar William of Occam, states that “entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.” Models, theories, and hypotheses should be shaved to their essentials—keep it simple. “Simplicity,” writes McFadden in this meaty, historically colorful account, “is…what separates science from the myriad other ways of making sense of the world.” Indeed, simplicity “is not just a tool of science alongside experimentation, it is as central to science as numbers are to mathematics or notes to music.” The author follows the razor through “a selective account of key ideas and innovations that exemplify its importance and illustrate its use.” With flair and accessibility, McFadden walks readers through Occam’s many intellectually revolutionary ideas, from his refusal to multiply Aristotle’s universals to his disagreement with Thomas Aquinas over the scientific nature of theology. For Occam, hypotheses were provisional and probabilistic, vulnerable to disproof. He was also a believer in apostolic poverty and felt that greed gave rise to the subjective right of ownership, then laws to protect ownership, and then rulers to enforce the laws of ownership, thus perverting the natural state that should guide the human condition. (This section features particularly illuminating and vivid writing.) Occam did not insist that the world was simple, nor that all simplicities are the same; rather, when we engage in reasoning about a particular scenario, we should not multiply the various aspects involved “beyond necessity.” McFadden also smoothly integrates elements of spirituality into his historical discussion, from Franciscan beliefs to the philosophy of Copernicus, “whose trust in simplicity was well rewarded,” writes the author. “With Occam’s razor in hand, even mystics, like Copernicus, could find the path toward modern science.”

A dense, provocative, and satisfying foray into the history of science.