The Human Question

This needs a catchy name--badly.  Also, maybe this is more accurately called an improvement on methodological naturalism.  But here goes (parsimony is #2 in the following list): 1. Conservation of wonder:  When describing the explanandum, don't make it sound less interesting than it really is.  For example, don't describe a sonnet as a meaningful combination of letters: it's more than that.   2. Prefer the familiar to the exotic.  When explaining, strive to come up with explanations that rely on analogies with what is more familiar... when doing so is adequate to the task.  In other words, assign the types of properties associated with quarks only as a kind of last resort. 3. Distinguish rather than separate.  Look for how two things are different aspects of the same whole.  As in electo/magnetism.  4. Identify the limits of the applicability of your analogies:  Every analogy limps if you make it walk far enough.  Th...