John Punch

Who was John Punch?

John Punch, O.F.M. was an Irish Franciscan scholastic philosopher and theologian.

John Punch was ultimately responsible for the now classic formulation of Ockham's Razor, in the shape of the Latin phrase entia non-sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, "entities are not to be multiplied unnecessarily." Punch's own formulation was slightly different: Non sunt multiplicanda entia sine necessitate. Punch did not attribute this wording to William of Ockham, but instead referred to the principle as a "common axiom" used by the Scholastics.