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Nominalism
Nominalism. The theory of language which emphasizes the nature of universal concepts as names given by humans. In the controversy on universals in the 11th and 12th cents., a form of Nominalism was evolved by Roscelin and P. Abelard. It was directed against the Realists who held that universals, such as genus and species, had a separate existence apart from the individuals in which they were embodied. Roscelin carried the denial of the unity of species to the point where he was accused of Tritheism. Abelard described universals as ‘names’ (nomina) as opposed to ‘things’ (res), but he does not seem to have denied that the resemblances among individual things justified the use of universals for establishing knowledge.
A different form of Nominalism appeared in the 14th cent.; it is usually associated with William of Ockham. He asserted that the universal is not found at all in reality, but only in the human mind; universals are only a way of knowing individual things. In its application to theology Nominalism simplifies God's Being to such a degree that the reality of the Three Persons, which depends on formal distinctions and relations, can be accepted only on authority of faith. Nor can reason demonstrate that the First Cause of the Universe is the One God. It thus withdrew almost all the data of faith from the realm of reason and so paved the way for the disintegration of Scholasticism. |
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Nominalism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Nominalism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Nominalism.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Nominalism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Nominalism.html |
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nominalism
nominalism in philosophy, a theory of the relation between universals and particulars. Nominalism gained its name in the Middle Ages, when it was contrasted with realism . The problem arises because in order to perceive a particular object as being of a certain kind, say a table, we must have a prior notion of table. Does the kind "table," described by this prior notion, then have an existence independent of particular tables? Nominalism says that it does not, that it is just a name for a group of particular objects. Nominalism is appropriate to materialist and empirical philosophy and hence has been popular in modern thought.
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"nominalism." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "nominalism." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-nominali.html "nominalism." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-nominali.html |
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nominalism
nominalism Philosophical theory, opposed to realism, that denies the reality of universal concepts. Whereas realists claim that there are universal concepts, such as roundness or dog, that are referred to by the use of these terms, nominalists argue that such generalized concepts cannot be known, and that the terms refer only to specific qualities common to particular circles or dogs that have been encountered up to now. Nominalism was much discussed by philosophers of the Middle Ages.
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"nominalism." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "nominalism." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-nominalism.html "nominalism." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-nominalism.html |
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nominalism
nominalism in philosophy, the doctrine that universals or general ideas are mere names without any corresponding reality. Only particular objects exist, and properties, numbers, and sets are merely features of the way of considering the things that exist. Important in medieval scholastic thought, nominalism is associated particularly with William of Occam (see Occam's razor).
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "nominalism." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "nominalism." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-nominalism.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "nominalism." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-nominalism.html |
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Nominalism
Nominalism (as opposed to Realism), the view of those Scholastics and later philosophers who regarded universals or abstract conceptions as a ‘flatus vocis’, mere names without any corresponding reality.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Nominalism." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Nominalism." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Nominalism.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Nominalism." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Nominalism.html |
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