William of Ockham(1287 — 1349)
William of Ockham
royaume d'Angleterre
6 min read
William of Ockham was an English philosopher, logician, and theologian, a major figure of late Scholasticism and of the nominalist movement. A Franciscan friar, he is famous for the principle of parsimony known as “Ockham's razor.”
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate (Plurality must never be posited without necessity).»
Key Facts
- Born around 1285 in Ockham, Surrey, England.
- Studied and taught at the University of Oxford in the early 14th century.
- Summoned to Avignon in 1324 to have his theses, deemed suspect, examined.
- Took sides in the dispute over poverty and took refuge with Emperor Louis of Bavaria in 1328.
- Died around 1347, probably in Munich, most likely of the Black Death.
Works & Achievements
Ockham's first major work, in which he sets out his theology and his nominalism, denying the real existence of universals. The foundation of all his thought.
A masterful treatise on logic that systematizes his theory of terms and signs. A reference work for late medieval logic.
A collection of open debates tackling varied questions of metaphysics and theology. It illustrates the method of the university disputation.
A defense of the Franciscan doctrine of the poverty of Christ against Pope John XXII. A major polemical text of the poverty controversy.
A vast political work on the limits of papal and imperial power, which remained unfinished. It had a lasting influence on medieval political thought.
A brief treatise denouncing the popes' claims to absolute temporal power. It argues for the separation of spiritual and civil powers.
Anecdotes
As a student at Oxford, William of Ockham completed the lectures required to become a master of theology, but never officially received the title: for this reason he was nicknamed *Inceptor venerabilis* (the venerable beginner). Paradoxically, this nickname became a mark of respect for one of the sharpest minds of his time.
The famous “Ockham's razor” — the idea that beings should not be multiplied beyond necessity — was never formulated word for word by Ockham himself. The best-known Latin phrase was attributed to him later, but the principle of simplicity does run throughout his entire body of logical work.
Accused of heresy, Ockham was summoned in 1324 to **Avignon**, before the court of Pope **John XXII**, to defend his theses. For nearly four years, a commission examined his writings without ever pronouncing a definitive condemnation.
In 1328, caught up in the dispute over Franciscan poverty, Ockham fled Avignon by night together with the minister general of his order and joined the emperor **Louis of Bavaria**. Legend has it that he said to the emperor: “Defend me with the sword, and I will defend you with the pen.”
Excommunicated for fleeing, Ockham spent the rest of his life in **Munich** under imperial protection, writing political treatises challenging the temporal power of the popes. He probably died of the Black Death that ravaged Europe in **1349**.
Primary Sources
Plurality must not be asserted without necessity; what can be done with fewer principles is done in vain with more.
Everything outside the soul is singular in itself; there is no real universality in things, only concepts and signs.
The power of the pope is not such that he may at his pleasure strip the faithful of their rights and liberties.
Christ and the apostles possessed nothing of their own nor in common, living from the simple use of necessary things.
Key Places
Village that gave its name to the philosopher and the presumed place of his birth around 1287. A medieval church still stands there.
Intellectual hub where Ockham studied and commented on the Sentences, developing his logic and his nominalism. There he built his reputation as a formidable thinker.
House of the Order of Friars Minor where Ockham continued teaching after Oxford. The Franciscans debated theology and philosophy there.
Seat of the papacy where Ockham was summoned in 1324 to answer charges of heresy. He resided there under surveillance before his flight in 1328.
Ockham's refuge under the protection of Emperor Louis of Bavaria, where he wrote his political treatises. He died there around 1349, probably of the plague.
