Quotation
Last reviewed:
“A universal is an intention of the soul, capable of being predicated of many.”
William of Ockham · Nominalism · Medieval · c. 1323; Loux's English 1974
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading puts universals in the mind. A universal, such as a term that applies to many dogs, is an intention of the soul, a mental sign that can be predicated of many, not a single shared thing existing in the dogs. A competing reading hears a denial that dogs really resemble each other, which he does not need. The resemblance can be real. What he refuses is an extra entity, the universal, out in the world alongside them. The definition is Summa Logicae I.14, in the translation tradition of Loux. It is the technical heart of the nominalism that the razor slogan only gestures at. The parsimony formula in I.12 is a rule of method. This sentence says what a universal is. Predicated of many is the test. A mental item that can be said of only one thing is not, by this definition, a universal.
Did William of Ockham really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Ockham's account of the universal in Summa Logicae I.14. Loux's translation renders intentio animae as an intention of the soul. The English is a translation of a technical definition, not the razor slogan.
Where it comes from
Summa Logicae, part I, chapter 14, following the translation of Michael J. Loux
Approximate date: c. 1323; Loux's English 1974.
How to use it
A spreadsheet column called 'customer type' is a sign we predicate of many rows. His sentence says that is what a universal is, a sign, not a ghostly type sitting in the shop beside the people. The column can still be useful. The mistake is to treat the heading as a thing in the world that the people are made of.
A mindset reading
When a general word starts to feel like an object, ask whether you mean the sign that applies to many or a shared entity besides them. He chooses the sign. The habit does not settle every argument about properties. It stops a noun from being promoted into a thing without an argument.
Understand the philosophy
Summa Logicae I.14 defines the universal as an intention of the soul predicable of many. Loux's English is the translation followed. The parsimony formula is I.12 and is a separate card. The claim that no universal is a thing outside the soul is the consequence drawn in his commentary on the Sentences and is the third card. The entities slogan remains the doubtful later capsule.
- knowledge
- mind
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading puts universals in the mind. A universal, such as a term that applies to many dogs, is an intention of the soul, a mental sign that can be predicated of many, not a single shared thing existing in the dogs. A competing reading hears a denial that dogs really resemble each other, which he does not need. The resemblance can be real. What he refuses is an extra entity, the universal, out in the world alongside them. The definition is Summa Logicae I.14, in the translation tradition of Loux. It is the technical heart of the nominalism that the razor slogan only gestures at. The parsimony formula in I.12 is a rule of method. This sentence says what a universal is. Predicated of many is the test. A mental item that can be said of only one thing is not, by this definition, a universal.
Did William of Ockham really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Ockham's account of the universal in Summa Logicae I.14. Loux's translation renders intentio animae as an intention of the soul. The English is a translation of a technical definition, not the razor slogan.
Which work is it in?
Summa Logicae, part I, chapter 14, following the translation of Michael J. Loux Approximate date: c. 1323; Loux's English 1974.