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Manfred comments on r/HPMOR on heroic responsibility - Less Wrong Discussion

9 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 21 August 2012 11:08AM

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Comment author: Manfred 22 August 2012 01:14:50PM 0 points [-]

Willam of Ockham originally used his principle to argue for the existence of God (God is the only necessary entity, therefore the simplest explanation).

Comment author: V_V 22 August 2012 03:45:18PM 2 points [-]

That's a truly epic fail, since Occam's razor is the strongest argument against the existence of God.

It's worth noting that the current formulation "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity" is much more recent than Ockham's original formulation "For nothing ought to be posited without a reason given, unless it is self-evident (literally, known through itself) or known by experience or proved by the authority of Sacred Scripture."

I suppose that he included the reference to the Sacred Scripture specifically because he realized that without it, God would be the first thing to fly out of the window.

Comment author: CarlShulman 17 September 2012 04:09:54AM *  0 points [-]

I sometimes wish I knew which philosophers of the time were sincere in their religious disclaimers.

Comment author: Jayson_Virissimo 17 September 2012 05:26:31AM 0 points [-]

That should go in a quotes thread.

Consider it done.