Philosophy theories and structures are not things I usually have much confidence in my ability understand and apply. You won't find me discussing or pondering on phrases like "I think, therefore I am" or trying to determine the meaning of life. One of my college buddies was a philosophy minor and I loved talking with him. His way of thinking and logic was so much different than mine. It was great for discussion and analyzing things in a different way but not overly productive. He could out philosophize me any day of the week but deciding what to eat could turn into a drawn out process and analysis, as well. I didn't see much practical application to his philosophical thinking and in general I don't spend much time getting philosophical. For me, philosophical razors are a bit different. They can have quite a bit of logical use and real world impact if understand and applied correctly. I came across one philosophical razor a while back and recently came across additional razors. Razors are guides or rule of thumbs in philosophy that, when used correctly, allow the user to shave unnecessary information and reasoning regarding a topic so that bad decisions and added effort can be avoided. While complex in the philosophical background, most razors are names with a brief sentence or two that summarizes the guidance. For example, one simply says, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Short, sweet and easy to understand. That's the kind of guidance and rule I like. Over a series of posts, I'll share what I know about different philosophical razors and do my best to not look like a dummy in the process.
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