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References:Gibson, Arthur (2004) Ockhams world and future in John Marenbon (ed.) Routledge History of Philosophy (Volume III: Medieval Philosophy). Routledge. p.329-367.Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, entry: William of Ockham (Occam, c.1280 c.1349) http://www.iep.utm.edu; accessed October 3 , 2013.Russel, B. (1945) A History Of Western Philosophy and Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Simon and Schuster: New York, NY.Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, entry: William of Ockham. http://plato.stanford.edu /entries/ockham; accessed October 3 , 2013.William of Ockham& THE OCKHAMS RAZOR

Revianto B. Santosa

William of Ockham& THE OCKHAMS RAZORLife

Born in Ockham Oxford (c. 1286 )Going to Paris as young FranciscanEngaged in conflict with Pope John XII in AvignonExcomunicated and hunted by the PopeStaying in Munich under the protection of Louis of Bavaria (Holy Roman Empire)Writing philosophy and politicsDied in Munich in 1347

William of Ockham& THE OCKHAMS RAZORTHOMAS AQUINAS(1224-1274)

Medieval Synthesis of faith and reasonWILLIAM OF OCKHAM(1280-1349)

Excluding faith from reasonOckhams Positionin Medieval Philosophy

William of Ockham& THE OCKHAMS RAZOROckhams RazorIF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE THEORY THEN THE SIMPLEST IS MORE LIKELY TO BE TRUE

William of Ockham& THE OCKHAMS RAZORImplications

Ockhams Razor is a vary simple principles with many consequences

METAPHYSICS Ockham champions nominalism, the view that universal essences, such as humanity or whiteness, are nothing more than concepts in the mind. He develops an Aristotelian ontology, admitting only individual substances and qualities.

EPISTEMOLOGYOckham defends direct realist empiricism, according to which human beings perceive objects through intuitive cognition, without the help of any innate ideas. These perceptions give rise to all of our abstract concepts and provide knowledge of the world.

LOGICOckham presents a version of supposition theory to support his commitment to mental language. Supposition theory had various purposes in medieval logic, one of which was to explain how words bear meaning.

William of Ockham& THE OCKHAMS RAZORLegacy

Ockhams principles lay the foundation of modern logic preferrring simplicity and clarity to complexity and mystery. In the field of political philosophy, Ockham had to wait for more than 600 years to witness his treatise to be develop into modern political discourse. His influence, however is lasting. For example, Stephen Hawking in his classic exposition of theoretical physics, A Brief History of Time, attributes the discovery of quantum mechanics to Ockhams Razor.