Editing Occam's razor (section)

=== Aesthetic ===
Prior to the 20th century, it was a commonly held belief that nature itself was simple and that simpler hypotheses about nature were thus more likely to be true. {{Clarify | text =This notion was deeply rooted in the aesthetic value that simplicity holds for human thought and the justifications presented for it often drew from [[theology]]. | date = February 2021 | reason = The example that follows doesn't connect with 'human thoughts' nor explicitly 'theology'.}} [[Thomas Aquinas]] made this argument in the 13th century, writing, "If a thing can be done adequately by means of one, it is superfluous to do it by means of several; for we observe that nature does not employ two instruments [if] one suffices."<ref>Pegis 1945.</ref>

Beginning in the 20th century, [[epistemology|epistemological]] justifications based on [[Inductive reasoning|induction]], [[logic]], [[pragmatism]], and especially [[probability theory]] have become more popular among philosophers.<ref name="Sober 2015 4"/>