[__ Science __ ] Occam's razor

[TonyChanYT]

Occam's razor:

philosophical rule that says

• entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily
• the simplest of competing theories be preferred to the more complex
• explanations of unknown phenomena be sought first in terms of known quantities.

I use Occam's razor or parsimony as one of the hermeneutic tools when I interpret Bible verses. E.g., in the case of Are homosexual acts sins?, there are several relevant verses. Each of the verses can be explained away by some means as not pointing to a man having sexual intercourse with another man. However, there is a simple unifying explanation: it is talking about a man having sex with another man. To me, this simple unifying factor is worthy of some heavyweight.

Occam's razor works well in scientific research. I think it works well in Biblical hermeneutics as well.