A longstanding philosophical premise perceives simplicity as a desirable attribute of scientific theories. One of several raised justifications for this notion is that simple theories are more likely to indicate the true makeup of natural systems. Qualitatively parsimonious hypotheses and theories keep to a minimum the number of different postulated entities within a system. Formulation of such ontologically simple working hypotheses proved to be useful in the experimental probing of narrowly defined bio systems. It is less certain, however, whether qualitatively parsimonious theories are effective indicators of the true nature of complex biological systems. This paper assesses the success of ontologically simple theories in envisaging the makeup of three complex systems in bacteriology, immunology, and molecular biology. Evidence shows that parsimonious theories completely misconstrued the actual ontologically complex constitutions of the three examined systems. Since evolution and selective pressures typically produce ontologically intricate rather than simple bio systems, qualitatively parsimonious theories are mostly inapt indicators of the true nature of complex biological systems.

中文翻译：

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本体论上简单的理论并不能说明复杂生物系统的真实性质：三个测试案例。

长期存在的哲学前提将简单性视为科学理论的理想属性。对此概念提出的若干理由之一是，简单的理论更有可能表明自然系统的真实构成。定性的简化假设和理论使系统中不同假定实体的数量保持最小。此类本体论上简单的工作假设的表述在窄范围内定义的生物系统的实验探测中被证明是有用的。但是，定性的简约理论是否是复杂生物系统真实性质的有效指标尚不确定。本文评估了在设想细菌学，免疫学和分子生物学三个复杂系统构成的本体论简单理论方面的成功。证据表明，简约的理论完全误解了这三个被检验系统的实际本体论上的复杂构造。由于进化和选择压力通常会产生复杂的本体论而不是简单的生物系统，因此定性的简约理论在很大程度上不能说明复杂生物系统的真实性质。