William of Ockham  

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 +"[[George Henry Lewes]] has observed that the only medieval debate of any philosophical value is the debate between [[nominalism]] and [[Philosophical realism|realism]]. This opinion is rather [[temerarious]], but it emphasizes the importance of the persistent controversy provoked at the beginning of the ninth century by a sentence from [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]], which [[Boethius]] translated and annotated: a controversy that [[Anselm of Canterbury |Anselm]] and [[Roscellinus]] continued at the end of the eleventh century and that [[William of Ockham|William of Occam]] reanimated in the fourteenth." --[[Jorge Luis Borges ]], "[[From Allegories to Novels]]"
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'''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. '''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.
 +===Nominalism===
 +William of Ockham was a pioneer of [[nominalism]], and some consider him the father of modern [[epistemology]], because of his strongly argued position that only individuals exist, rather than supra-individual [[universal (metaphysics)|universals]], essences, or forms, and that universals are the products of abstraction from individuals by the human mind and have no extra-mental existence. He denied the real existence of metaphysical universals and advocated the reduction of [[ontology]]. William of Ockham is sometimes considered an advocate of [[conceptualism]] rather than nominalism, for whereas nominalists held that universals were merely names, i.e. words rather than existing realities, conceptualists held that they were mental [[concept]]s, i.e. the names were names of concepts, which do exist, although only in the mind. Therefore, the universal concept has for its object, not a reality existing in the world outside us, but an internal representation which is a product of the understanding itself and which "supposes" in the mind the things to which the mind attributes it; that is, it holds, for the time being, the place of the things which it represents. It is the term of the reflective act of the mind. Hence the universal is not a mere word, as [[Roscellinus|Roscelin]] taught, nor a ''sermo'', as [[Peter Abelard]] held, namely the word as used in the sentence, but the mental substitute for real things, and the term of the reflective process. For this reason William has sometimes also been called a "terminist", to distinguish him from a nominalist or a conceptualist.
 +William of Ockham was a theological [[Voluntarism (theology)|voluntarist]] who believed that if God had wanted to, he could have become incarnate as a donkey or an ox, or even as both a donkey and a man at the same time. He was criticized for this belief by his fellow theologians and philosophers.
 +
 +==See also==
 +*[[Philotheus Boehner]]
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

Revision as of 14:07, 7 May 2018

"George Henry Lewes has observed that the only medieval debate of any philosophical value is the debate between nominalism and realism. This opinion is rather temerarious, but it emphasizes the importance of the persistent controversy provoked at the beginning of the ninth century by a sentence from Porphyry, which Boethius translated and annotated: a controversy that Anselm and Roscellinus continued at the end of the eleventh century and that William of Occam reanimated in the fourteenth." --Jorge Luis Borges , "From Allegories to Novels"

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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.

Nominalism

William of Ockham was a pioneer of nominalism, and some consider him the father of modern epistemology, because of his strongly argued position that only individuals exist, rather than supra-individual universals, essences, or forms, and that universals are the products of abstraction from individuals by the human mind and have no extra-mental existence. He denied the real existence of metaphysical universals and advocated the reduction of ontology. William of Ockham is sometimes considered an advocate of conceptualism rather than nominalism, for whereas nominalists held that universals were merely names, i.e. words rather than existing realities, conceptualists held that they were mental concepts, i.e. the names were names of concepts, which do exist, although only in the mind. Therefore, the universal concept has for its object, not a reality existing in the world outside us, but an internal representation which is a product of the understanding itself and which "supposes" in the mind the things to which the mind attributes it; that is, it holds, for the time being, the place of the things which it represents. It is the term of the reflective act of the mind. Hence the universal is not a mere word, as Roscelin taught, nor a sermo, as Peter Abelard held, namely the word as used in the sentence, but the mental substitute for real things, and the term of the reflective process. For this reason William has sometimes also been called a "terminist", to distinguish him from a nominalist or a conceptualist.

William of Ockham was a theological voluntarist who believed that if God had wanted to, he could have become incarnate as a donkey or an ox, or even as both a donkey and a man at the same time. He was criticized for this belief by his fellow theologians and philosophers.

See also




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