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William of ockham birth chart8/13/2023 Michael of Cesena had asked Ockham to review arguments surrounding Apostolic poverty. A theological commission had been asked to review his Commentary on the Sentences, and it was during this that Ockham found himself involved in a different debate. In 1327, the Franciscan Minister General (the chief administrative officer of the order), Michael of Cesena, had been summoned to Avignon, to answer charges of heresy. It has sometimes been suggested that he was effectively under “house arrest,” but this seems an exaggeration. While in Avignon, Ockham stayed at the Franciscan convent there. An alternative understanding suggests that he was initially appointed in Avignon as a professor of philosophy in the Franciscan school, and that his disciplinary difficulties did not begin until 1327. In 1324, his commentary was condemned as unorthodox by a synod of bishops, and he was ordered to Avignon, France, to defend himself before a papal court. However, Ockham’s commentary was not well received by his colleagues or by the Church authorities. Comments on Peter Lombardĭuring the Middle Ages, theologian Peter Lombard’s Four Books of Sentences (1150) had become a standard work of theology and should remain as such until the 16th century, and many ambitious theological scholars wrote commentaries on it, among them also William of Ockham. Ockham’s early schooling in a Franciscan convent concentrated on the study of logic throughout his career, his interest in logic never waned, because he regarded the science of terms as fundamental and indispensable for practicing all the sciences of things, including God, the world, and ecclesiastical or civil institutions in all his disputes logic was destined to serve as his chief weapon against adversaries. Maybe you remember this dispute also being a topic in Umberto Eco’s famous medieval novel ‘ The Name of the Rose‘. Francis of Assisi concerning the strictness of the poverty that should be practiced within the order. Ockham continued his academic career, apparently in English convents, simultaneously studying points of logic in natural philosophy and participating in theological debates.Īt that time a central issue of concern in the Franciscan order and a main topic of debate in the church in general was the interpretation of the rule of life composed by St. an inceptor being a student formally admitted to the ranks of teachers by the university authorities. Because of this, he acquired the honorific title Venerabilis Inceptor, or “Venerable Beginner”, i.e. It is believed that he studied theology at the University of Oxford from 1309 to 1321, but while he completed all the requirements for a master’s degree in theology he was never made regent master. William of Ockham was born in Ockham (= Oak Hamlet), Surrey, a little to the southwest of London, in 1285 and joined the Franciscan order (the so called “Greyfriars”) already at an early age. 1323), Prefatory Letter, as translated by Paul Vincent Spade (1995) Greyfriar William of Ockham For just as a mechanic who lacks a complete knowledge of his tool gains a fuller by using it, so one who is educated in the firm principles of logic, while he painstakingly devotes his labor to the other sciences, acquires at the same time a greater skill at this art.” It is not worn out by repeated use, after the manner of material tools, but rather admits of continual growth through the diligent exercise of any other science. Without it no science can be fully known. “Logic is the most useful tool of all the arts. But, first let’s have a look on its originator: William of Ockham. in the Jodie Foster movie ‘ Contact‘, or the TV series ‘ House M.D.’. But, lots of references can also be found in popular culture, as e.g. It’s a logical principle of minimalism and I always have to explain it to my students in my lectures on semantics and ontology. Probably you have already heard of Occam’s razor. He is commonly known for Occam’s razor, the methodological principle that bears his name, and also produced significant works on logic, physics, and theology. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the fourteenth century. Probably on April 10, 1347, English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher and theologian William of Ockhampassed away.
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