Difference between revisions of "William of Ockham"
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''William of Ockham''' (c. 1287-c. 1347) was a late Medieval philosopher and Franciscan friar. He is perhaps best known for '''Occam's Razor''' , a philosophical concept which states that the most simple explanation is always more likely to be the true explanation unless evidence demands a more complicated one. This is vital in the philosophy of science. | '''William of Ockham''' (c. 1287-c. 1347) was a late Medieval philosopher and Franciscan friar. He is perhaps best known for '''Occam's Razor''' , a philosophical concept which states that the most simple explanation is always more likely to be the true explanation unless evidence demands a more complicated one. This is vital in the philosophy of science. | ||
| − | Ockham is also known for arguing that natural theology (that is, arguing for God's existence using logic) is completely futile as a subject. Nevertheless, Ockham's entire philosophical system is essentially based on God as a necessary, all-powerful and all-knowing being by whom all possibilities have their grounding. | + | Ockham is also known for arguing that natural theology (that is, arguing for God's existence using logic) is completely futile as a subject. Nevertheless, Ockham's entire philosophical system is essentially based on God as a necessary, all-powerful and all-knowing being by whom all possibilities have their grounding. Ockham is also well-known for his espousal of a view called '''nominalism''', the view that abstract platonic objects and/or essences do not exist but are just made-up conceptions in the human mind. |
| + | |||
| + | When he died, he was most likely a victim of the first wave of Black Death in Europe. | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
Revision as of 18:41, December 17, 2014
William of Ockham (c. 1287-c. 1347) was a late Medieval philosopher and Franciscan friar. He is perhaps best known for Occam's Razor , a philosophical concept which states that the most simple explanation is always more likely to be the true explanation unless evidence demands a more complicated one. This is vital in the philosophy of science.
Ockham is also known for arguing that natural theology (that is, arguing for God's existence using logic) is completely futile as a subject. Nevertheless, Ockham's entire philosophical system is essentially based on God as a necessary, all-powerful and all-knowing being by whom all possibilities have their grounding. Ockham is also well-known for his espousal of a view called nominalism, the view that abstract platonic objects and/or essences do not exist but are just made-up conceptions in the human mind.
When he died, he was most likely a victim of the first wave of Black Death in Europe.