Simplicity, Not Simplism: Reestablishing Occam's Razor as Paramount Scientific Necessity

Occam’s Razor (also known as the principle of parsimony) is regularly dismissed as an obsolete vestige. One, no longer worthy of its longstanding status as a fundamental scientific principle. This paper offers an interpretation of said principle’s core preference termed Verificational Simplicity or Blind Faith Parsimony. This interpretation identifies the most scientific hypothesis as that yielding the fullest account of corresponding data while necessitating least verifiability-averse assumption. In light of this straightforward interpretation, it is argued that Occam’s Razor is of paramount scientific importance (being so fundamental as even to underlie virtually all other integral scientific values). Three core supporting arguments are utilized. Argument 1 highlights the too often overlooked agility with which Occam’s Razor dovetails with available corresponding data—no matter how complex. Argument 2 shows that without parsimony to block ad hoc hypotheses, falsifiability becomes lost. And since falsifiability is an essential “distinguish[er of genuine] science from non-science,” science at large thus becomes lost as well. Whereas argument 3 is focused on the enormous burden of proof that reasonable corresponding dismissals must shoulder.