1. British Academy - William Of Ockham: Dialogus An ongoing project to provide william of ockham's "Dialogus" in Latin and English. The Latin Category Society Philosophy Philosophers william of ockham Works......william of ockham Dialogus. LATIN TEXT AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION. edited byJohn Kilcullen, George Knysh, Volker Leppin, John Scott and Jan Ballweg. http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubs/dialogus/ockdial.html

home contact fellowship funding ... search Related pages: Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi General Author/Title Index Series Index Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi William of Ockham: Dialogus LATIN TEXT AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION edited by John Kilcullen, George Knysh, Volker Leppin, John Scott and Jan Ballweg under the auspices of the Medieval Texts Editorial Committee of the British Academy Ockham and the Dialogus Preface Table of Contents ... home

2. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: William Of Ockham Read a profile of this English philosopher and writer living in the 14th century. Learn about Ockham's controversial writings. In his controversial writings william of ockham appears as the advocate of secular absolutism. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15636a.htm

Home Encyclopedia Summa Fathers ... W > William of Ockham A B C D ... Z William of Ockham Fourteenth-century Scholastic philosopher and controversial writer, born at or near the village of Ockham in Surrey, England, about 1280; died probably at Munich, about 1349. He is said to have studied at Merton College, Oxford, and to have had John Duns Scotus for teacher. At an early age he entered the Order of St. Francis. Towards 1310 he went to Paris, where he may have had Scotus once more for a teacher. About 1320 he became a teacher (magister) at the University of Paris. During this portion of his career he composed his works on Aristotelean In his controversial writings William of Ockham appears as the advocate of secular absolutism. He denies the right of the popes to exercise temporal power, or to interfere in any way whatever in the affairs of the Empire. He even went so far as to advocate the validity of the adulterous marriage of Louis's son, on the grounds of political expediency, and the absolute power of the State in such matters. In philosophy William advocated a reform of Scholasticism both in method and in content. The aim of this reformation movement in general was simplification. This aim he formulated in the celebrated "Law of Parsimony", commonly called "Ockham's Razor": "Entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate". With this tendency towards simplification was united a very marked tendency towards skepticism a distrust, namely, of the ability of the human mind to reach certitude in the most important problems of philosophy. Thus, in the process of simplification he denied the existence of intentional species, rejected the distinction between essence and existence, and protested against the Thomistic doctrine of active and passive intellect. His skepticism appears in his doctrine that human reason can prove neither the immortality of the soul nor the existence, unity, and infinity of

3. William Of Ockham [Internet Encyclopedia Of Philosophy] Unsigned article in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Category Society Philosophy Philosophers william of ockham......The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy william of ockham (d. 1347). Table of Contents(Clicking on the links below will take you to that part of this article) http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/o/ockham.htm

William of Ockham (d. 1347) Table of Contents (Clicking on the links below will take you to that part of this article) Life Writings Nominalism Nature of God ... Church and State Life William of Ockham, the Franciscan school man, nominalist, and " doctor invincibilis Back to Table of Contents Writings There is no complete edition of the works of Ockham, which can serve as an indicator of the disfavor into which he fell by his rebellious attitude. Although the numerous manuscripts and early printed editions testify to the interest which was felt in his writings. Under the head of philosophical works may be named the Expositio aurea et admodum utilis super totam artem veterem . This work, in the form of commentaries on Aristotle and Porphyry, contains Ockham's logic, epistemology, metaphysic, Summa logices, Qucestiones in octo libros physicorum, Summultv in libros physicorum, and two or three works still unprinted. The principal theological work is Quoestiones et decisiones in quatuor libros sententiarum . The first book is much fuller than the other three and is frequently found in manuscripts independent of them. This leads us to believe that Ockham published it before the other three and on a much larger scale. Other theological treatises are the Centiloquium theologicum , "embracing almost the whole of speculative theology under one hundred conclusions," which gives a interesting collection of instances of what rational theology might consider possible.

4. Robert Wagner - About William Of Ockham Biography of this philosopher. http://www.physik.tu-muenchen.de/~rwagner/me/ockham.html

Robert Wagner about William of Ockham William of Ockham also called W ILLIAM O CKHAM , Ockham also spelled O CCAM , byname V ENERABILIS I NCEPTOR OCTOR INVINCIBILIS c. Early life After his early training, Ockham took the traditional course of theological studies at the University of Oxford and apparently between 1317 and 1319 lectured on the Sentences Sentences (a commentary known as Ordinatio inceptor baccalaureus formatus. Ockham continued his academic career, apparently in English convents, simultaneously studying points of logic in natural philosophy and participating in theological debates. When he left his country for Avignon, Fr., in the autumn of 1324 at the pope's request, he was acquainted with a university environment shaken not only by disputes but also by the challenging of authority: that of the bishops in doctrinal matters and that of the chancellor of the university, John Lutterell, who was dismissed from his post in 1322 at the demand of the teaching staff. theologicus logicus is Luther’s term). On the one hand, with his passion for logic he insisted on evaluations that are severely rational, on distinctions between the necessary and the incidental and differentiation between evidence and degrees of probability – an insistence that places great trust in man’s natural reason and his human nature. On the other hand, as a theologian he referred to the primary importance of the God of the creed whose omnipotence determines the gratuitous salvation of men; God’s saving action consists of giving without any obligation and is already profusely demonstrated in the creation of nature. The medieval rule of economy, that "plurality should not be assumed without necessity," has come to be known as

5. Ockham & Nominalism Paper on the nominalist theologian. http://web.syr.edu/~nmagee/ockham.html

William Of Ockham and the Death Of Universals Neal Magee Introduction I - The Power of God II - Universals ... Notes illiam of Ockham, one of the most notable thinkers of his day (and a century afterward), was in on the ground level of what has become, to many Modern thinkers, quite an upsetting occurrence. He probably never anticipated his dream coming true: the death of universals. The fact that they are dead is no surprise to modern scholars who have tended not to trust these structures anymore, whatever they may look like, and even shy away from using the word "universal." Contemporary Postmodern philosopher Jean-François Lyotard equates universals with "metanarratives": overarching and universally applicable maxims (equally applicable through time and space), i.e. truth, knowledge, ethics, or God. In fact, Lyotard defines postmodernity as "incredulity towards metanarratives," and has been working hard within a band of intrepid thinkers to make sure they never return.( ) Below is a discussion of the framework of this occurrence, focusing on the theology, metaphysics and epistemology of William of Ockham. I hope to briefly describe his understanding of the power of God, place his view of universals in a wider philosophical context, and explore his empirical epistemology and rejection of realism. Finally, I want to connect his beliefs with their repercussions, as formulated by the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther.

6. William Of Ockham Occam (12871347) was one of the most important philosophers of the Middle Ages. By Paul Vincent Spade. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ockham/

version history HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy A B C D ... Z content revised AUG William of Ockham 1. Life 1.1 England (c. 1287-1324) 1.2 Avignon (1324-28) 1.3 Munich (1328/29-47) ... Related Entries 1. Life Ockham led an unusually eventful life for a philosopher. As with so many medieval figures who were not prominent when they were born, we know next to nothing about the circumstances of Ockham's birth and early years, and have to estimate dates by extrapolating from known dates of events later in his life. Ockham's life may be divided into three main periods. 1.1 England (c. 1287 Ockham was born, probably in late 1287 or early 1288, in the village of Ockham (= Oak Hamlet) in Surrey, a little to the southwest of London. He probably learned basic Latin at a village school in Ockham or nearby, but this is not certain. Around 1310, when he was about 23, Ockham began his theological training. It is not certain where this training occurred. It could well have been at the London Convent, or it could have been at Oxford, where there was another Franciscan convent associated with the university. In any event, Ockham was at Oxford studying theology by at least the year 1318-19, and probably the previous year as well, when (in 1317) he began a required two-year cycle of lectures commenting on Peter Lombard's Sentences

7. William Of Occam Biography of the C14th philosopher and theologian by Dave Beckett of the University of Kent at Canterbury, England. william of ockham, born in the village of Ockham in Surrey (England) about 1285, was the most influential philosopher of http://www.hensa.ac.uk/parallel/www/occam/occam-bio.html

Biography William of Ockham, born in the village of Ockham in Surrey (England) about 1285, was the most influential philosopher of the 14th century and a controversial theologian. He entered the Franciscan order at an early age and took the traditional course of theological studies at Oxford. Strong opposition to his opinions from members of the theological faculty prevented him from obtaining his Master's degree. His teaching had also aroused the attention of Pope John XXII, who summoned him to the papal court in Avignion (France) in 1324. The charges against him were presented by Jogh Lutterell, the former chancellor of the university of Oxford. Ockham was never condemned, but in 1327, while residing in Avignion, he became involved in the dispute over apostolic poverty. When this controversy reached a critical stage in 1328, and the Pope was about to issue a condemnation of the position held by the Franciscans, Ockham and two other Franciscans fled from Avignion to seek the protection of Emperor Louis IV, the Bavarian. They followed the emperor to Munich (Germany) in 1330, where Ockham wrote fervently against the papacy in a series of treatises on papal power and civil sovereignty. The medieval rule of parsimony, or principle of economy, frequently used by Ockham came to be known as

8. Targets Of The Inquisition: William Of Ockham Brief profile of William's career notes that he was excommunicated during his lifetime, but has since been deemed a Doctor of the Church. william of ockham, one of the Doctors of the Church, lived in England as a Franciscan theologian and writer. http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Student_Work/Trial96/breu/ockham.html

W ILLIAM O F O CKHAM (1285-1347) William of Ockham, one of the Doctors of the Church, lived in England as a Franciscan theologian and writer. He developed a unique and controversial philosophy which trimmed much from Aristotle's system of the world. These radical beliefs made an enemy of John Lutterell, the chancellor of Oxford at the time. Lutterell sent a document to Pope John XII criticizing Ockham's work. Ockham was not officially condemned by the papal office at this juncture. Ockham later attacked John XII for errors in some of his papal bulls, going so far as to call him a heretic. He and two other friars fled to Italy (at this time the papacy was in Avaigion, France) and were excommunicated from the church. What is particularly interesting in the Galilean context is that while Ockham was persecuted, imprisioned, and finally excommunicated during his lifetime; he has since risen to such high regard in the church to be deemed a Doctor. Change within the churc h is slow, and often the ideas initially rejected by the Church may be gradually incorporated into its theological tradition, and enemies of the Church may become its new heroes. Back to: Contemporaries Back to: Main

9. Nonconformist Church History: William Of Ockham (1285-1347/9) A Nonconformist reading of his theology.Category Society Philosophy Philosophers william of ockham......william of ockham (1285 1347 or 1349). Another example in which this approachwas significant for william of ockham is the way in which God's grace acts. http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/nch-william-ockham.htm

William of Ockham (1285 - 1347 or 1349) b. 1285, Ockham, Surrey, England d. 1347 or 1349, Munich, Bavaria The Pope can be convicted of heresy, if he solemnly defines an error against the faith and asserts that it should be held by Christians. The small village of Ockham, a few miles from the place where the A3 meets the M25 today, was the birthplace of one of the most influential of all mediæval thinkers, William of Ockham. He was among the first to produce reasoned arguments against the mediæval patterns of church doctrine and authority, seeking to return to the patterns found in the New Testament. Today, his name lives on in "Occam's razor," the name given to a logical principle that simplicity is preferable to complexity. As a young man, William became a Franciscan friar. William's education among the Franciscans included logic, a subject that became a lifelong interest for him. Later, William studied theology at Oxford University, and by his early thirties, he was lecturing there on the Four Books of Sentences of Peter Lombard, a leading 12

10. The Ecole Glossary Brief profile of the originator of Ockham's razor. http://www2.evansville.edu/ecoleweb/glossary/ockham.html

The Ecole Glossary William of Ockham A logician and proponent of nominalism, William of Ockham originated Ockham's razor, a philosophical paring tool that prefers the simplest theory that will explain the observable data. Born c. in Surrey, William was a Franciscan who taught at Oxford until the chancellor John Lutterell accused him of teaching suspect doctrine. John XXII appointed a commission which found 51 propositions questionable but which did not condemn the lecturer. William revised these, and while he was at Oxford and Avignon, he wrote commentary on the Organon of Aristotle and the Sentences of Peter Lombard. William accepted the teachings of the Spiritual Franciscans, who believe that Christ and his Apostles held all property in common and, therefore, poverty was essential to the church. John XXII did not accept these ideas, and William came to see him as a pseudo-pope. William, with two leaders of the Spiritual Franciscans, fled in to the protection of Louis of Bavaria, a papal enemy. John excommunicated William and the others. After John's death in , William sought to reconcile himself with the Roman church; the outcome of these efforts is not known. William died, possibly of the plague, in Munich c.

11. Ockham And The Dialogus For a study of these works see Marilyn McCord Adams, William Ockham (Notre Dame,1987), or, for a brief account, william of ockham in The Encyclopaedia of http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubs/dialogus/wock.html

OCKHAM AND THE DIALOGUS John Kilcullen and George Knysh The best way of becoming acquainted with William of Ockham would be to read A.S. McGrade's "Introduction", "Principal Dates in Ockham's Life", and "Suggestions for Further Reading" in William of Ockham, A Short Discourse on the Tyrannical Government... usurped by some who are called Highest Pontiffs , ed. A.S. McGrade (Cambridge University Press, 1992), or the corresponding material in William of Ockham, A Letter to the Friars Minor and Other Writings , ed. A.S. McGrade and John Kilcullen (Cambridge University Press, 1995). For a detailed interpretation of Ockham's Dialogue see George Knysh's Fragments of Ockham Hermeneutics (Winnipeg, 1997), and pp. 237-240 of his Political Ockhamism (see below). The following is a brief introduction for readers altogether unacquainted with Ockham. Ockham and Pope John XXII William of Ockham was a medieval English philosopher and theologian who lived about a generation before Chaucer (he was born about 1285, perhaps as late as 1288, and died in 1347 or 1348). In his earlier years he wrote many influential works in logic, philosophy and philosophical theology. For a study of these works see Marilyn McCord Adams, William Ockham (Notre Dame, 1987), or, for a brief account, "William of Ockham" in

12. Ockham william of ockham. Born 1288 in Ockham william of ockham's early Franciscaneducation concentrated on logic. He studied theology at http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Ockham.html

William of Ockham Born: 1288 in Ockham (near Ripley, Surrey), England Died: 9 April 1348 in Munich, Bavaria (now Germany) Click the picture above to see a larger version Show birthplace location Previous (Chronologically) Next Biographies Index Previous (Alphabetically) Next Main index William of Ockham 's early Franciscan education concentrated on logic. He studied theology at Oxford and between 1317 and 1319 he lectured on the Sentences , the standard theology text used in universities up to 16 C. His opinions aroused strong oposition and he left Oxford without his Master's Degree. He continued studying mathematical logic and made important contributions to it. He considered a three valued logic where propositions can take one of three truth values. This became important for mathematics in the 20th Century but it is remarkable that it was first studied by Ockham 600 years earlier. Ockham went to France and was denounced by the Pope. He was excommunicated and in 1328 he fled seeking the protection of Louis IV in Bavaria (Louis had also been excommunicated!). He continued to attack papal power always employing logical reasoning in his arguments. Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson List of References (22 books/articles) A Quotation Mathematicians born in the same country Other Web sites Dave Beckett The Catholic Encyclopedia Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Encyclopaedia Britannica ... Previous (Chronologically) Next Biographies Index Previous (Alphabetically) Next Main index History Topics Societies, honours, etc.

13. Medieval Philosophy A study of Duns Scotus, william of ockham and other fourteenth century philosophers, and of medieval elements in Descartes and other early modern philosophers. Course notes by R.J. Kilcullen. http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/medph.html

Teaching Materials on Medieval Philosophy John Kilcullen Download 1 Download 2 Courses (no longer offered) Course description, Medieval Philosophy Course description, Later Medieval Philosophy Website for Sydney University Course The Medieval Intellectual Tradition Reading Guides Medieval Philosophy: An Introduction Greek Philosophical Background Aristotle on the Web Macquarie Library books on Aristotle ... Medieval elements in Berkeley, Locke and Hume Return to Intellectual History

14. Ockham Biography of william of ockham (12881348) william of ockham. Born 1288 in Ockham (near Ripley, Surrey), England http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Ockham.html

William of Ockham Born: 1288 in Ockham (near Ripley, Surrey), England Died: 9 April 1348 in Munich, Bavaria (now Germany) Click the picture above to see a larger version Show birthplace location Previous (Chronologically) Next Biographies Index Previous (Alphabetically) Next Main index William of Ockham 's early Franciscan education concentrated on logic. He studied theology at Oxford and between 1317 and 1319 he lectured on the Sentences , the standard theology text used in universities up to 16 C. His opinions aroused strong oposition and he left Oxford without his Master's Degree. He continued studying mathematical logic and made important contributions to it. He considered a three valued logic where propositions can take one of three truth values. This became important for mathematics in the 20th Century but it is remarkable that it was first studied by Ockham 600 years earlier. Ockham went to France and was denounced by the Pope. He was excommunicated and in 1328 he fled seeking the protection of Louis IV in Bavaria (Louis had also been excommunicated!). He continued to attack papal power always employing logical reasoning in his arguments. Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson List of References (22 books/articles) A Quotation Mathematicians born in the same country Other Web sites Dave Beckett The Catholic Encyclopedia Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Encyclopaedia Britannica ... Previous (Chronologically) Next Biographies Index Previous (Alphabetically) Next Main index History Topics Societies, honours, etc.

15. Notes To William Of Ockham Notes to william of ockham Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ockham/notes.html

Notes For an account of Ockham's life, including a discussion of how these dates are calculated in Ockham's case, see Wood [1997], Chap. 1. For further details of Ockham's life, see Courtenay [1999]. The technical term is second son.) Ockham's accuser may have been John Lutterell, who had been Chancellor at the University of Oxford for a while. Recall that the Papacy at this time, together with all the offices and bureaucracy that went with it, was not located in Rome, but at Avignon, a moderate-sized town in southeastern France, on the Rhone River. It was there between 1309 and 1377. It is not certain that Ockham had ever actually been ordered to stay in Avignon. Michael of Cesena later on claimed that this was an utter fabrication (Wood [1997], p. 10 n. 21). Note that Ockham was excommunicated for his actions , not for his views. Lesser Treatise on Logic Tractatus minor logicae ) and Primer of Logic Elementarium logicae There are two doubtful exceptions, the Lesser Treatise on Logic and the Primer of Logic, which appear to be late and may not be authentic. See

16. William Of Ockham. Catholic Encyclopedia william of ockham Biographical article on the fourteenth-century Franciscan philosopher. http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~lloyd/tildeMML/Notes/Ockham.html

parent William of Ockham (1285-1349). William came from Ockham which is near Guildford, S.W. of London, just off junction 10 of the M25 with the A3. Medieval spelling was "rubbery" and while the village is now named `Ockham', the spelling `Occam' is frequently used in connection with W. W is often credited with making a statement to the effect of, ``if two theories explain the facts equally well then the simpler theory is to be preferred'', but see below. This principle is widely known as `Occam's Razor'. From Mark Ellison: Mach, Ernst. The Science of Mechanics: A Critical and Historical Account of Its Development , (Trans. TJ McCormack (1960)) Open Court, La Salle IL. Page 577ff. Thorburn, WM. Occam's Razor , Mind 24:287-288, 1915. Burns, C Delisle. Occam's Razor , Mind, 24:392, 1915. Thorburn, WM. The Myth of Occam's Razor , Mind, 27:345-353. The force of these articles is to emphasise that Ockham (a) is not recorded as having, and (b) wouldn't have, said `Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem' (Don't multiply entities except by necessity). He did say `Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate' (plurality shouldn't be posited without necessity). Similar forms are found in the writings of his teacher Duns Scotus (c1266-1308)[1].

17. William Of Ockham William (of) Ockham/Occam and Ockham's Razor william of ockham, also called William Ockham (Ockham also spelled " Occam") (12851347/49), was a medeival monk.. http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~vdmeulen/deeper/OBIG/spoilers.html

William (of) Ockham/Occam and Ockham's Razor William of Ockham, also called William Ockham (Ockham also spelled " Occam") (1285-1347/49), was a medeival monk.. (a scholastic) Ockham's razor, also spelled "Occam's razor", but also called "law of economy" or "law of parsimony", is a principle stated by William of Ockham , that entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity (non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem). This principle was, in fact, invoked before Ockham by Durand de Saint-Pourcain, a French Dominican theologian and philosopher of dubious orthodoxy, who used it to explain that abstraction is the apprehension of some real entity. Galileo did something similar by defending the simplest hypothesis of the heavens, and other later scientists stated similar simplifying laws and principles. It is called " Ockham's razor" because he mentioned the principle so frequently and employed it so sharply. For instance, he used it to dispense with relations which he held to be nothing distinct from their foundation in things; with efficient causality, which he tended to view merely as regular succession;

18. William Of Occam william of ockham, born in the village of Ockham in Surrey (England) about 1285,was the most influential philosopher of the 14th century and a controversial http://wotug.ukc.ac.uk/parallel/www/occam/occam-bio.html

Biography William of Ockham, born in the village of Ockham in Surrey (England) about 1285, was the most influential philosopher of the 14th century and a controversial theologian. He entered the Franciscan order at an early age and took the traditional course of theological studies at Oxford. Strong opposition to his opinions from members of the theological faculty prevented him from obtaining his Master's degree. His teaching had also aroused the attention of Pope John XXII, who summoned him to the papal court in Avignion (France) in 1324. The charges against him were presented by Jogh Lutterell, the former chancellor of the university of Oxford. Ockham was never condemned, but in 1327, while residing in Avignion, he became involved in the dispute over apostolic poverty. When this controversy reached a critical stage in 1328, and the Pope was about to issue a condemnation of the position held by the Franciscans, Ockham and two other Franciscans fled from Avignion to seek the protection of Emperor Louis IV, the Bavarian. They followed the emperor to Munich (Germany) in 1330, where Ockham wrote fervently against the papacy in a series of treatises on papal power and civil sovereignty. The medieval rule of parsimony, or principle of economy, frequently used by Ockham came to be known as

19. William Of Ockham. william of ockham Ockham's razor William Ockhams razor William of Occam Occam'srazor William Occams razors Artificial Intelligence AI Inductive Inference II http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~lloyd/tildeMML/Notes/Ockham.html

parent William of Ockham (1285-1349). William came from Ockham which is near Guildford, S.W. of London, just off junction 10 of the M25 with the A3. Medieval spelling was "rubbery" and while the village is now named `Ockham', the spelling `Occam' is frequently used in connection with W. W is often credited with making a statement to the effect of, ``if two theories explain the facts equally well then the simpler theory is to be preferred'', but see below. This principle is widely known as `Occam's Razor'. From Mark Ellison: Mach, Ernst. The Science of Mechanics: A Critical and Historical Account of Its Development , (Trans. TJ McCormack (1960)) Open Court, La Salle IL. Page 577ff. Thorburn, WM. Occam's Razor , Mind 24:287-288, 1915. Burns, C Delisle. Occam's Razor , Mind, 24:392, 1915. Thorburn, WM. The Myth of Occam's Razor , Mind, 27:345-353. The force of these articles is to emphasise that Ockham (a) is not recorded as having, and (b) wouldn't have, said `Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem' (Don't multiply entities except by necessity). He did say `Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate' (plurality shouldn't be posited without necessity). Similar forms are found in the writings of his teacher Duns Scotus (c1266-1308)[1].

20. William Of Ockham william of ockham. Marilyn McCord Adams, William Ockham, 2 vol. (1987),discusses in detail his thinking on a variety of complex topics. http://wwwradig.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/~dressler/ockham.html

William of Ockham also called WILLIAM OCKHAM, Ockham also spelled OCCAM, byname VENERABILIS INCEPTOR (Latin: "Venerable Enterpriser"), or DOCTOR INVINCIBILIS ("Invincible Doctor"), (b. c. 1285, Ockham, Surrey?, Eng.d. 1347/49, Munich, Bavaria [now in Germany]), Franciscan philosopher, theologian, and political writer, a late scholastic thinker regarded as the founder of a form of nominalismthe school of thought that denies that universal concepts such as "father" have any reality apart from the individual things signified by the universal or general term. Early life Little is known of Ockham's childhood. It seems that he was still a youngster when he entered the Franciscan order. At that time a central issue of concern in the order and a main topic of debate in the church was the interpretation of the rule of life composed by St. Francis of Assisi concerning the strictness of the poverty that should be practiced within the order. Ockham's early schooling in a Franciscan convent concentrated on the study of logic; throughout his career, his interest in logic never waned, because he regarded the science of terms as fundamental and indispensable for practicing all the sciences of things, including God, the world, and ecclesiastical or civil institutions; in all his disputes logic was destined to serve as his chief weapon against adversaries.

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