Terminology Tuesday: Occam’s Razor

Occam’s (Okham’s) razor: One of the main axioms of nominalist philosopher William of Occam (c.1300-1349), namely, that principles employed to explain any phenomenon should not be multiplied without necessity. In the modern era Occam’s razor was used to eliminate the supernatural from view. Hence critics argued, for example, that we need no longer appeal to demonic possession to explain what is better referred to as some purely human malady such as epilepsy or mental illness.1

1. Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 85.