Medieval Philosophy: A Practical Guide to William of Ockham

By M. James Ziccardi

The following is one in a series of reviews that has been extracted in its

entirety from M. James Ziccardi's The Essence of Medieval Philosophy.

It is intended to serve as a primer for students of medieval philosophy with an emphasis on some of the more important works of William of Ockham.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. James Ziccardi
• Release date: Feb 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301806966

M. James Ziccardi

M. James Ziccardi lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter and has been a software analyst for over twenty-five years. Reading and writing about philosophy is his passion.

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Medieval Philosophy: A Practical Guide to William of Ockham

M. James Ziccardi

Copyright 2011 by M. James Ziccardi

Smashwords Edition

Section 1 - Preface

The following is one in a series of reviews that has been extracted in its entirety from M. James Ziccardi’s The Essence of Medieval Philosophy.

It is intended to serve as a primer for students of medieval philosophy with an emphasis on some of the more important works of William of Ockham.

Section 2 - Notes on the Text

Square brackets [] found within quotes are mine; Parentheses () found within quotes are the author’s.

Sections in bold type or that are underlined are intended by me to highlight critical points.

Section 3 - Biography

(c. 1280 – c. 1348)

We now come to the English-born William of Ockham, the last of the medieval philosophers in our review. Once again, we find that there is little information on Ockham’s early life. He was born sometime between the years 1280 and 1290 (though probably nearer to 1280) in the village of Ockham, which is located near London in the County of Surrey. It is known that Ockham joined the Franciscans at an early age, and in 1306 he was ordained a subdeacon within the Order. From 1309 to 1315 he attended the University of Oxford where it is believed he studied theology. Afterwards, and while still maintaining his ties to the University, Ockham, like many of his scholastic contemporaries, went on to lecture both on the Bible and on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, which by this time had become the de facto authority on all theological teachings throughout Medieval Europe.

Although Ockham had completed all of the requirements for his degree in theology, he never advanced to the level of Magister acto regens, or in other words, an official chair at the University. Thus he remained a Magister Theologiae, and for this reason he acquired the pseudonym, Venerabilis Inceptor, or Worthy Beginner. (Ockham was also given the title Doctor Invincibilis, or Unconquerable Teacher.) It is believed that Ockham was denied his chair through the efforts of John Lutterell, a former Chancellor of the University. It seems that Lutterell, a devout and overzealous Thomist, had taken umbrage with some of Ockham’s writings, and consequently, had decided to punish him despite most of those at the University having sided with Ockham. For this and other reasons, Lutterell became so unpopular that he himself was expelled from Oxford. Nonetheless, Lutterell, who was apparently still not satisfied in his persecution of Ockham, became instrumental in having Ockham brought before a papal court on charges of professing heretical doctrines.

In 1324, Ockham was summoned by Pope John XXII to appear before the Papal Court at Avignon in England, which, due to the onset of disputes that would eventually lead to the Papal Schism of the Catholic Church (1378-1417), had become the Pope’s official residence. The trial lasted for three years, and in the end, though the inquiry was never officially completed, Ockham was condemned as a heretic despite the fact that none of the documents in question were ever formally condemned. It is worth pointing out that the document most scrutinized during the trial was Ockham’s Commentary on the Sentences, a work which was ill-received at the time of its writing.

During and after the trail, between the years 1324 and 1328, it is believed that Ockham was detained at the Franciscan Convent in Avignon, and it was here that he became entangled in yet another controversy, although this time one that had the potential of becoming more widespread and destructive. The issue at hand concerned the notion of Franciscan poverty. According to the Gospels, Christ and his Apostles owned no property, neither privately nor in common, and as such, they intentionally led a life of poverty. For this reason many within the Franciscan Order believed that they should try to emulate this lifestyle; others, however, remained vehemently opposed to the idea. The controversy grew to become so heated that Pope John XXII, the same pope who Ockham was made to appear before, was forced to weigh in on the matter.

Not surprisingly, the Pope ended up siding