William of Ockham
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| - | :''[[atheism]]'' | + | '''William of Ockham''' (also '''Occam''', '''Hockham''', or any of several other spellings, (c. 1288 - c. 1348) was an [[England|English]] [[Franciscan]] [[friar]] and [[Scholasticism|scholastic]] [[philosopher]], from [[Ockham, Surrey|Ockham]], a small village in [[Surrey]], near [[East Horsley]]. He is considered — along with [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Duns Scotus]], and the Islamic scholar [[Averroes]] — to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the fourteenth century. Although commonly known for [[Occam's razor]], the methodological principle that bears his name, William of Ockham also produced significant works on [[logic]], [[physics]], and [[theology]]. In the [[Church of England]], his day of commemoration is 10 April. |
| - | The espousal of atheistic views was rare in Europe during the [[Early Middle Ages]] and [[Middle Ages]] (see [[Medieval Inquisition]]); metaphysics, religion and theology were the dominant interests. | ||
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| - | There were, however, movements within this period that forwarded heterodox conceptions of the Christian God, including differing views of the nature, transcendence, and knowability of God. Individuals and groups such as [[Johannes Scotus Eriugena]], [[David of Dinant]], [[Amalric of Bena]], and the [[Brethren of the Free Spirit]] maintained Christian viewpoints with [[pantheism|pantheistic]] tendencies. [[Nicholas of Cusa]] held to a form of [[fideism]] he called ''[[De Docta Ignorantia|docta ignorantia]]'' ("learned ignorance"), asserting that God is beyond human categorization, and our knowledge of God is limited to conjecture. [[William of Ockham]] inspired anti-metaphysical tendencies with his [[nominalism|nominalistic]] limitation of human knowledge to singular objects, and asserted that the divine [[essence]] could not be intuitively or rationally apprehended by human intellect. Followers of Ockham, such as [[John of Mirecourt]] and [[Nicholas of Autrecourt]] furthered this view. The resulting division between faith and reason influenced later theologians such as [[John Wycliffe]], [[Jan Hus]], and [[Martin Luther]]. | ||
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| - | The [[Renaissance]] did much to expand the scope of freethought and skeptical inquiry. Individuals such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]] sought experimentation as a means of explanation, and opposed [[Appeal to authority|arguments from religious authority]]. Other critics of religion and the Church during this time included [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], [[Bonaventure des Périers]], and [[François Rabelais]]. | ||
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William of Ockham (also Occam, Hockham, or any of several other spellings, (c. 1288 - c. 1348) was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher, from Ockham, a small village in Surrey, near East Horsley. He is considered — along with Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and the Islamic scholar Averroes — to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the fourteenth century. Although commonly known for Occam's razor, the methodological principle that bears his name, William of Ockham also produced significant works on logic, physics, and theology. In the Church of England, his day of commemoration is 10 April.
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