sic point of view: In the same manner as logic, the logical system can only apply one exclusive andinternally coherent set of rules. Epistemology and ontology can only be governed by a set of rules having similar properties. After the analysis of Hägerström’s works, a few inferences can be drawn about the general character of his philosophy. As indicated above, on account of the major importance that Hägerström attached to the laws of thought, especially the principle of identity, it is safe to argue that his philosophy is governed by one overriding principle, namely Occam’s razor, according to which, the philosopher or scientist should keep the sum of hypothetical entities and supporting hypotheses to an absolute minimum, thus refraining from multiplying the entities unnecessarily. This principle recurs in all areas of Hägerström’s philosophy, for instance, in the use that he makes of his philosophical motto,“praeterea censeo metaphysicam esse delendam”201 - a clear example of an attempt to put the principle of parsimony into application: Consequently, the number of entities must be reduced as far as possible, which according to Hägerström’s general anti-metaphysical line of argument is achieved by postulating a single-world ontology, which is the postulate that corresponds best to his application of the principle of identity in ontological matters, namely that reality is identical to itself and thus one and indivisible.The same parsimonious principle also carries over to Hägera ca l l f o r s c i e n t i f i c p u r i t y 235 4 . 5 summary: the gene ral characte r of häge r ström’s phi losophy 201 Hägerström, Selbstdarstellungen, p. 48. 202 Ibid. Contents of brackets added here. “Es [das Motto] ist eine Aussage des Inhalts, daß wir die Metaphysik zerstören müssen, wenn wir jemals durch denWortnebel dringen, der aus Gefühlen und Assoziationen entstanden ist, und ‘from sounds to things’ gelangen wollen.”202
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