OCKHAM'S RAZORS by Elliott Sober ( 9781107068490 ) - Books & Audio Books at Pickabook.co.uk

Item Details

Title:

OCKHAM'S RAZORS
A USER'S MANUAL

By:

Elliott Sober

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£86.99

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£78.29

Discount:

10% off

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£8.70

ISBN 10:

1107068495

ISBN 13:

9781107068490

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Publisher:

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

23 July, 2015

Pages:

322

Description:

This book uses philosophy, science and probability to analyse why simpler theories are better than theories that are more complex.

Synopsis:

Ockham's razor, the principle of parsimony, states that simpler theories are better than theories that are more complex. It has a history dating back to Aristotle and it plays an important role in current physics, biology, and psychology. The razor also gets used outside of science - in everyday life and in philosophy. This book evaluates the principle and discusses its many applications. Fascinating examples from different domains provide a rich basis for contemplating the principle's promises and perils. It is obvious that simpler theories are beautiful and easy to understand; the hard problem is to figure out why the simplicity of a theory should be relevant to saying what the world is like. In this book, the ABCs of probability theory are succinctly developed and put to work to describe two 'parsimony paradigms' within which this problem can be solved.

Illustrations:

42 b/w illus.

Publication:

Imprint:

Cambridge University Press

Prizes:

Short-listed for PROSE Awards: Philosophy 2016

Returns:

Returnable

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