<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In recent years, the concept of simplicity in perception has acquired a leading role, above all thanks to scholars linked to Bayesian modeling and to theories like structural information theory derived from information theory. Unfortunately, two misleading ideas made their way into the discussion: that in perception, simplicity is equivalent to Prägnanz and that Occam’s razor plays a role in the simplicity of percepts. Here it is shown that in Gestalt theory, simplicity is only one of the factors of Prägnanz and that the use of Occam’s razor is improper, because it applies only to the theories that generate, in this case, a percept, and not to the product of the theory.</p></abstract>

In recent years, the concept of simplicity in perception has acquired a leading role, above all thanks to scholars linked to Bayesian modeling and to theories like structural information theory derived from information theory. Unfortunately, two misleading ideas made their way into the discussion: that in perception, simplicity is equivalent to Prägnanz and that Occam’s razor plays a role in the simplicity of percepts. Here it is shown that in Gestalt theory, simplicity is only one of the factors of Prägnanz and that the use of Occam’s razor is improper, because it applies only to the theories that generate, in this case, a percept, and not to the product of the theory.

Perceptual Simplicity: The True Role of Prägnanz and Occam

Department of Life Sciences, Psychological Section “G. Kanizsa”

Gestalt Theory

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Perceptual Simplicity: The True Role of Prägnanz and Occam"}

In recent years, the concept of simplicity in perception has acquired a leading role, above all thanks to scholars linked to Bayesian modeling and to theories...

Perceptual Simplicity: The True Role of Prägnanz and Occam

Published Online: Nov 26, 2019

Page range: 263 - 276

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2019-0024

Keywords
Simplicity, Prägnanz, Gestalttheorie, Occam’s razor

© 2019 Riccardo Luccio, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Perceptual Simplicity: The True Role of Prägnanz and Occam

Published Online: Nov 26, 2019

Page range: 263 - 276

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2019-0024

KeywordsSimplicity, Prägnanz, Gestalttheorie, Occam’s razor

© 2019 Riccardo Luccio, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Simplicity, Prägnanz, Gestalttheorie, Occam’s razor