William of Ockham (1287–1347)

Author of Ockham - Philosophical Writings: A Selection

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About the Author

William of Ockham was a Franciscan at Oxford. He came just short of receiving his theology degree; he was never able to undertake the necessary year of teaching because of the long list of those waiting and the opposition of his enemy, John Lutterel. From 1320 to 1324, he taught and wrote at the show more London Studium, the private school of his order. He was summoned to Avignon in 1324 on charges of heresy and became involved there in the dispute over Franciscan poverty. In 1328 Ockham fled with Michael of Cesena, general of his order, was excommunicated, and took refuge in Munich with Duke Ludwig of Bavaria, who had also been excommunicated. From there he engaged in an extensive polemic against Pope John XXII and his successors, writing numerous political works. Ockham's metaphysics and his logic are closely connected because of his deployment of "Ockham's razor," the notion that we should not suppose that more things exist than are needed to explain the meaning of true sentences. Very often his arguments hang on the logical analysis of a sentence, revealing its logical structure and making it clear that some questionable entity, something other than a word or an individual thing, is not referred to in it. His philosophy is marked by nominalism. He rejected the notion that we somehow or other get the forms of things themselves into our intellect, attacking especially Scotist attempts to hold on to this view using the "formal distinction." Instead, he held that our concepts were like mental words, with a natural capacity to signify their objects but in no way to be identified with their objects. This led to a strong skeptical current among his followers. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: W Ockham, G de Ockham, Vilim Ockham, Vilim Ockham, Willam Ockham, William Ockham, William of Ockham, Willem van Ockham, of Ockham William, Willem van Ockham, William of Ockman, William of Ockham, William of Ockham, Guglielmo d'Ockham, Guillaume d'Ockham, Guillemi de Ockham, Guglielmo di Occam, Guilelmus de Occam, Guillermo de Occam, D'Ockham Guillaume, William, of Ockham, Guillermo de Occam, Wilhelm von Ockham, William von Ockham, Wilhelm von Ockham, Guilherme De Ockham, Guglielmo d' Ockham, Guilelmus de Ockham, Guglielmo da Ockham, Guillaume d' Ockham, Guillelmi De Ockham, Guillermo de Ockham, Guilherme de Ockham, Guillermo de Ockham, Guglielmo da Ockham, Guillelmus de Ockham, d'Occam Guillem, de Occam Guillelmus :, Guillem D' Ockham, O.F.M. Guilelmus de Occam, ca. ca. 1349 of Ockham William, of Ockham William, ca. 1285-1349, Guillelmi de Ockham (William of Ockham), edited by Philotheus Boehner. William Ockham

Works by William of Ockham

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Ockham - Philosophical Writings: A Selection (1990) 271 copies, 1 review

Predestination, God's Foreknowledge, and Future Contingents (1969) 114 copies

Ockham's Theory of Terms: Part 1 of the Summa Logicae (1974) 59 copies

William of Ockham: A Short Discourse on Tyrannical Government (1992) 52 copies

William of Ockham: 'A Letter to the Friars Minor' and Other Writings (1995) 44 copies

Ockham's Theory of Propositions: Part II of the Summa Logicae (1980) 34 copies

Quodlibetal Questions: Quodlibets 1-7 (Vols. 1 and 2) (1991) 26 copies

Principios de teología (1980) 19 copies

Texte zur Theorie der Erkenntnis und der Wissenschaft: Lateinisch/Deutsch (Universal-Bibliothek) (1984) 17 copies

Breviloqui sobre el principat tirànic damunt les coses divines i humanes- i en especial damunt els… (1981) 10 copies, 1 review

Los sucesivos (1901) 9 copies, 1 review

Il filosofo e la politica: otto questioni circa il potere del papa (1999) 9 copies

Ockham on Aristotle's Physics : a translation of Ockham's Brevis summa libri physicorum (1989) 8 copies

Intuition et abstraction (2006) 8 copies

Summa logicae 8 copies

Evidente kennis en theologische waarheden (proloog van de commentaar op de Sententiën, quaestio I) (1984) 7 copies

Kurze Zusammenfassung zu Aristoteles' Büchern über Naturphilosophie = (Summulae in libros physicorum) (1987) 7 copies

Guillelmi de Ockham : Scriptum in Librum Primum Sententiarum, Ordinatio, Opera Theologica, Prologues et Distinctio… (1967) 6 copies

La spada e lo scettro: due scritti politici (1996) 6 copies

A Compendium of Ockham's Teachings: A Translation of the Tractatus de Principiis Theologiae (1998) 6 copies

Antologia filosòfica (2004) 5 copies

Suma de Logica (Spanish Edition) (1994) 5 copies

Opera Politica vol. 1 (1974) 5 copies

Sobre el gobierno tiránico del papa (1901) 5 copies

Philosophical Writings (1964) 4 copies

Texte zu Theologie und Ethik (2000) 4 copies

Scotus and Ockham: Selected Essays (2003) 4 copies

Dialogus. Auszüge zur politischen Theorie. (1994) 4 copies

Summe der logik. Aus Teil I, Über die Terminir (1999) 3 copies

Logica dei termini (1992) 3 copies

Dialogo sul papa eretico. Testo latino a fronte (2015) 3 copies

On the power of emperors and popes (1998) 3 copies

Suma logiczna (2010) 3 copies

Sobre el gobierno tiránico del papa (Clásicos - Clásicos Del Pensamiento) (2008) 2 copies

Summe der Logik : aus Teil 1: Über die Termini ; lateinisch-deutsch (1984) 2 copies

The Tractatus de Successivis: Attributed to William Ockham 2 copies

Summa Logicae (Opera Philosophica I) (1974) 2 copies

Traité sur la prédestination (2007) 2 copies

William Ockham: Opera Politica, IV (Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi) (1997) 2 copies

O czasie (2007) 1 copy

[Quodlibeta septem. English] Quodlibetal questions. 1 copy

Scritti filosofici (1991) 1 copy

Filosofia teologia politica 1 copy

Venerabilis inceptoris Guillelmi de Ockham Quaestiones varia 1 copy

Summa de lógica. Tercera parte (I y II) 1 copy

Tratado sobre los principios de la Teología / 1 copy

The Tractatus de praedestinatione et de praescientia Dei et de futuris contingentibus of William Ockham 1 copy

Los sucesivos : Exposición de los ocho libros sobre la Física (Prólogo) (1999) 1 copy

Principios de Teología 1 copy

Guglielmo da Ockham [Opere di] 1 copy

Ockham: Philosophical writings. A selection edited 1 copy

Ockham 1 copy

Ockham: philosophical writings : a selection 1 copy

Breve discorso sul governo tirannico (2000) 1 copy

Lógica dos termos 1 copy

Opera Theologica II (Guillelmi de Ockham: Opera Philosophica et Theologica) 1 copy

Seleção de textos 1 copy

Über die Verknüpfung der Tugenden : Lat. /Dt. (2008) 1 copy

Francis of Assisi's Cat 1 copy

Opera-Philosophica at Theologica IV (Latin Edition) (1985) 1 copy

Tractatus de Praedestinatione et de Praescientia Dei et de Futuris Contingentibus (Franciscan Institute Pubs No. 2) 1 copy

Despre universalii 1 copy

Traité sur la quantité. Traité sur le corps du Christ (Sagesses Medievales) (2014) 1 copy

Commentaire sur le livre des prédicables de Porphyre, précédé du "Proëme du commentaire sur les livres de l'art… (1978) 1 copy

Somme de logique 1 copy

Ockham's Theory of Terms, Part I of the Summa Logicae / Ockham's Theory of Propositions : Part II of the… 1 copy

Guillelmi de Ockham: Quaestiones Variar, Questions I-8 (Guillelmi de Ockham) (Latin Edition) (1983) 1 copy

De Ockham, Guillelmi : Quaestiones in Tertuim Librum Sententiarum (Reportatio) (1982) 1 copy

Guillemi De Ockham, Scriptum in Librum Primum Sententiarum Ordination (Dist. XIX=XLVIII) (Latin Edition) (1979) 1 copy

Guillelmi de Ockham: Brevis Summa Libri Physicorum and Summulae Philosophiae Naturalis and Quaestiones Super Librum… (1985) 1 copy

Guillelmi de Ockham: Expositio in Libros Physicorum, Bks. IV-VIII (Guillelmi de Ockham) (1985) 1 copy

Exposición de los ocho libros sobre la física (prólogo). Los Sucesivos 1 copy

The De sacramento altaris of William of Ockham 1 copy

Ockham: Philosophical writings. A selection edited 1 copy

Sobre la suposición 1 copy

De potestate papae et cleri. Die Amtsvollmacht von Papst und Klerus: Lateinisch - Deutsch. Übersetzt und… (2015) 1 copy

Texte zur politischen Theorie. Exzerpte aus dem 'Dialogus'. (1995) 1 copy

Ordinatio (Scriptum in I Sententiarum), d.2, qq 3-8: Concerning the Distinction of Reason, the Problem of Universals,… 1 copy

Opera Philosophica Vol VI: Brevis Summa Libri Physicorum Summula Phlosophiae Naturalis, & Quaestiones in Libros… 1 copy

Opera Philosophica Vol IV: Expositio in Libros Physicorum Aristotelis: Prologus & Libri I-III 1 copy

Il Trattato sulla predestinazione e prescienza divina riguardo ai futuri contingenti: Introduzione, testo, traduzione e… (2020) 1 copy

Somme de logique 1 copy

Texte zur Theorie der Erkenntnis und der Wissenschaft : lateinisch / deutsch 1 copy

Quaestio de universali secundum viam et doctrinam Guilemi de Ockham 1 copy

Guillelmi de Ockham Opera philosophica et theologica. Opera theologica 1 copy

[Selections. English and Latin] Ockham : philosophical writings 1 copy

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Associated Works

Philosophy in the Middle Ages: The Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Traditions (1983) — Contributor — 457 copies, 2 reviews

The Age of Belief: The Medieval Philosophers (1957) — Contributor — 414 copies, 1 review

Western Philosophy: An Anthology (1996) — Author, some editions — 197 copies, 1 review

The Sheed and Ward Anthology of Catholic Philosophy (A Sheed & Ward Classic) (2005) — Contributor — 29 copies

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Common Knowledge

Canonical name: William of Ockham
Other names: William of Occam
Gulielmus Occamus
Guillermo de Ockham
Guillermo de Occam
Birthdate: 1287
Date of death: 1347-04-09
Gender: male
Nationality: England
Birthplace: Ockham, Surrey, Inglaterra.
Place of death: Múnich, Baviera, Alemania.
Education: University of Oxford
Occupations: Franciscan Friar
scholastic philosopher
theologian
mathematician
Organizations: Order of Friars Minor

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Reviews

Ockham - Philosophical Writings: A Selection by William of Ockham

Philosophies centered on epistemology and exercises in logic are not always the most enthralling, but Ockham is good reading in order to keep one's deductive reasoning sharp. Aquinas is very similar, as are most of the medieval philosophers. They usually tackle the same questions without necessarily coming to the same conclusions. The Aristotelian language does wear on the patience from time to time. I'm more of a Platonist, but I am willing to grant Aristotle some amount of respect.

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Erick_M | Jun 4, 2016 |

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