Walter Chatton

Walter Chatton (c. 1290–1343) was an English Scholastic theologian and philosopher. He is known for his philosophical sparring with William of Ockham, the proponent of Occam's razor. Chatton developed what is considered an "anti-razor" principle. His argument, from his *Lectura* I d. 3, q. 1, a. 1, states that if a proposition is true for existing things, and two things are not enough to verify it, then a third thing must be posited. In simpler terms, if an explanation doesn't fully confirm a proposition, and the existing explanation is deemed true, then an additional explanation is necessary. This was a direct counterpoint to Ockham's principle of parsimony.