Via Negativa


Subtractive Epistemology is the process of obtaining knowledge through subtraction.

Also related; apophatic theology. We list everything God is not to get closer to what God is.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Via Negativa in Skin In The Game (book):

“Via negativa: the principle that we know what is wrong with more clarity than what is right, and that knowledge grows by subtraction. Also, it is easier to know that something is wrong than to find the fix. Actions that remove are more robust than those that add because addition may have unseen, complicated feedback loops. This is discussed in some depth in Antifragile.”

Thoroughly explained in Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder.