PrintJune 13, 2009
Occam's Razor and Rev. Wright (updated)
"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate," or "plurality should not be posited without necessity."
This principle is known as Occam's Razor, named for the 14th-century English philosopher (William of Occam) who developed it. Basically, it says that hypothetical entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity in explaining a phenomenon, which can be interpreted as meaning that the simplest of competing theories should be preferred to the more complex.
After sending today's American Thinker blog piece on Reverend Wright's latest anti-Semitic discourse, I asked this question of my friend who was and is a very strong supporter of Barack Obama.
Mike,Do you really believe that for 20 years Obama sat in a pew only on the rare occasions that Wright wasn't discoursing on his anti-Semitic beliefs?Cliff
Mike's response:
Cliff,I do.Mike.
My response:
Mike,Wow. What are the odds, huh?But, consider this: for that to happen, Wright would have to have spotted the Obamas in the congregation and said to himself (hundreds of times, in fact),"Oh, there's Barak and Michelle in the twelfth row. I better not talk about the damn Jews today. Otherwise, Barak will have to leave the congregation. Everyone else in my congregation believes that the Jews are evil, and they'll say nothing if I speak the truth. But, the Obamas are Jew-lovers and different from everyone else in the congregation, so Barak and Michelle will take me to task if I tell the truth about the filthy Jews."Let's see. There are 52 Sundays per year and the Obamas were going to the church for 20 years, so that's 1,040 sermons. Let's say the Obamas only went to one service out of four. That means they heard 260 sermons from this proud anti-Semite.And, somehow, somehow, Wright not once in those 260 sermons kept his mouth shut about one of his pet hatreds?Never once was Barak Obama confronted by Wright's vile beliefs. Never. How can that be?There are only three possibilities here:1) Wright spotted Obama 260 times in the pews and decided that the Obamas were different from the rest of his congregation and so he'd better not warn the congregation about the Jews; or2) Like a roulette ball coming to rest on Red 18 260 times in a row, it was just a coincidence; or3) The Obamas listened to Wright's evil tirades about the Jews and remained mute.That's it. Those are the only possible choices. Which one is it?
William of Occam would certainly have known the truth about Barak Obama and anti-Semitism.
Update - Cliff Thier writes:
Donald Duck's Razor:
Donald Duck's Razor:
If it walks like a duck,
And it quacks like a duck,
It's a duck.
