Parsimony, Law Of
PARSIMONY, LAW OF (Lat. parsimonia, from parcere, to save), the name given to William of Occam's principle " Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem," i.e. that it is scientifically unsound to set up more than one hypothesis at once to explain a phenomenon. This principle is known as " Occam's razor " (see Occam, William of).
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
