Occam’s Razor and the Phenomenon of Trump Loyalism in 2023

by Dr. Gary L. Deel, Ph.D., J.D.

Occam’s razor is a philosophical problem-solving principle which recommends searching for explanations constructed with the smallest possible set of elements. This principle is also known as the law of parsimony.

The principle is often expressed in the Latin phrase, “entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem”, which means “entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity”. In other words, when faced with two or more competing hypotheses that explain a given set of facts, the one that is the simplest and requires the fewest assumptions should be adopted, as it is usually most likely to be correct.

Occam’s Razor is useful for many if not most problem-solving contexts in our everyday lives.

For example, if a doctor is trying to diagnose a patient with a fever, they should first consider the most likely explanation, which is that the patient has a cold. If the patient’s symptoms do not improve after a few days, the doctor might then consider more complex explanations, such as the possibility that the patient has the flu or another illness.

But the doctor probably should not assume, all things being equal, that the fever is from neorickettsia sennetsu, a bacterial infection which has afflicted less than 100…