Ockham Explained

by Rondo Keele (Editor)

Ockham Explained is an important and much-needed resource on William of Ockham, one of the most important philosophers of the Middle Ages. His eventful and controversial life was marked by sharp career moves and academic and ecclesiastical battles. At 28, Ockham was a conservative English theologian focused obsessively on the nature of language, but by 40, he had transformed into a fugitive friar, accused of heresy, and finally protected by the German emperor as he composed incendiary treatises calling for strong limits on papal authority. This book provides a thorough grounding in Ockham’s life and his many contributions to philosophy. It begins with an overview of the philosopher's youth and the Aristotelian philosophy he studied as a boy. Subsequent chapters cover his ideas on language and logic; his metaphysics and vaunted "razor," as well as his opponents’ "anti-razor" theories; his invention of the church-state separation; and much more. The concluding chapter sums up Ockham's compelling philosophical personality and explains his modern appeal.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good reconstruction of Ockham’s philosophy. If you have prior knowledge of Aristotle and/or logic, it may seem a bit crude (eg. lists) and/or gimmicky (eg. quiz).

[C. A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well explained.
Having almost no background in medieval philosophy, I managed to understand the main issues of Ockham's philosophy through Keele's clear and accessible book.
Reading this has made me want to read Ockham's actual works!

[未知生焉知死 Anvil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and engaging.
Excellent!

[Michael Kenan Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this 5 stars not because it couldn't be improved or added to, nor because it didn't belabour any points (chapter 5 on Ockham's radical physics and theory of motion felt slightly repetitive or tedious at times). No, I feel it deserves the full monty because of the difficulty of the source material and because Rondo Keele did not skirt the challenge by giving a mere noddy's version of the easy bits. He only went and bit off some of the chunkiest pieces of medieval meat out there and served it up fresh and delicious. So in addition to such tidbits as explaining the difference between reportatio vs ordinatio in medieval universities, the book includes a superb breakdown of high-to-late medieval semantics, logic and Porphyry’s tree of being, before applying it to nominalism about universals. Particularly interesting was the section on God's absolute vs ordained power, Ockham's writings on which sent him to the Avignon papacy on charges of heresy, and has sent me down a rabbit hole of further research.

One particularly strong feature is Keele's own judicious evaluations of Ockham's arguments and positions throughout, unafraid to show the reader how and why Ockham sometimes got into a hot mess. So despite clearly being very sympathetic to Ockham, our guide ranges from highlighting why Ockham abandoned his early fictum theory of cognition for his intellectio model, to showing how his theory of motion renders it impossible for an object to be moving in this present moment (rather than merely having moved). That's a fail. But Keele is right to point out the power of his connotation theory, his searing critique of metaphysical extravagance everywhere, plus the challenge that Ockham's intuitive vs abstractive cognition distinction poses to traditional Aristotelian psychology.
The author isn't so careful on Ockham's big separation of church and state, giving his political theory a practically free pass.
But definitely recommended for anyone interested in Ockham or medieval philosophy.

[NebulousGloom (FK) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a summary of Ockham's life and his philosophy. It is a pretty reasonable read, but the reader will probably need to take notes, as it is hard to remember the terms, which end up being used chapters after they are introduced. I really enjoyed learning more about Ockham's philosophy, which is absolutely not what we think it is.

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[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!