English Explanatory Dictionary

Newton's flaming laser sword

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. A philosophical razor which states that propositions or claims that cannot be resolved through experiment or observation are not worth debating.

Word forms

Newton's flaming laser sword Newton's laser sword

Etymology

Named after Isaac Newton. Coined by Australian mathematician and philosopher Mike Alder in 2004 in an article of the same title, to be hyperbolically “much sharper and more dangerous than Occam's razor”.

Synonyms

Alder's razor NFLS

Related words

verifiability principle
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