Thinker · c. 1287–1347 CE
William of Ockham
William of Ockham sharpened nominalist accounts of universals, logic, knowledge, and divine power while later challenging papal temporal authority.
Intellectual setting
Ockham’s philosophical work developed in Franciscan scholastic debates and his later political writings arose from conflict with papal claims.
Key ideas
Universals and signs
Universals are not independently existing common natures but signs and concepts that can signify many individuals.
Parsimony
Explanations should not multiply entities or principles beyond what is required for their task.
Legacy
His nominalism and logical precision had a long afterlife in late medieval philosophy and modern accounts of explanatory economy.