Nominalism

In Boethius’s second commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge he discusses and attempts to answer some of the questions Porphyry poses in his work. These questions have according to Boethius “been attempted by learned men, but have not been solved by many of them” (20). The questions were whether or not Universals are subsistent or only in understanding, if they are subsistent are they corporeal or incorporeal in nature, and finally if they are separate from or component in the objects they classify. In order to solve this set of questions which is often referred to as the problem of universals Boethius states the problem as “Genera and Species [and all other universals] either exist and subsist or are formed by the understanding and by thought alone” (21). Given the solution that Boethius arrives at in his work it would be most accurate to say that Boethius believes that universals are “formed by understanding and by thought alone”. {para} The two different sides to the problem of universals are often characterized as realist who believe that universals exist in reality and the mind and a conceptualist who believers that universals are only located within the mind. But both of these world views have what seems to be flaws. Realism has metaphysical problems of how either one thing can be common as a whole, simultaneously, and constitutively or if a universal is not individual but is a collection how to avoid a vicious infinite regress. If you are a conceptualist you begin to run…

throughout history. All practices and events that occur over the history of time accumulate into current social constructions. Social constructionism is founded upon its linguistic idealism; the doctrine that something exists if it is thought, spoken, or written about. This condition relies on the circumstance that all existing intangibles derive from the mental aspect. However, there are many circumstances in understanding social constructionism that have conflicted with another. In displaying…

effort to present a real-life moment of its subjects. Naturalist plays were therefore considered "slice of life" plays because they rarely changed their settings, and the time span of the play mirrored the passing of time for the audience. Realism 1861- 1914 (American Realism 1865-1890): An artistic movement begun in 19th century France. Artists and writers strove for detailed realistic and factual description. They tried to represent events and social conditions as they actually are,…

guidelines, but at the same time the man is created as an autonomous being capable of developing standards from the circumstances and characteristics of the times in which they live. In other words, the moral world is not fully formed by God; the man has basic moral principles that captures as participation in the rational order of creation, but freely build their daily lives. on the other hand, Hobbes believes that the existence of society, political power, laws, and institutions is artificial;…

importance of being aware of current philosophies from the stance of Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:8. For the mix of modern philosophies that post influential threat to Christianity, this awareness of thought is desperately needed as it can be applied to both Christians and non-Christians research field. Then, I am amazed at how the author provides crystal clear analysis and summary for each philosophy that we need to beware. The confrontational threats are displayed in a manner that reminds me…

Instead of a chronological approach to Luther’s life, Oberman decided to divide his book down into three different section, with a total of eleven chapters. Each section covers an aspect of the Reformation and include, The Longed-for Reformation, The Unexpected Reformation and The Reformation in Peril. Part One of the book discusses the political, social, economic and religious background of Europe and the strong need for reform. After Oberman discusses the background to the Reformation, he…

We are introduced to two viewpoints through the philosophical problem of the one and the many. The first view, realism, purports that categories of things existed before their particular elements. For example, flowers existed before daisies. “Flower” is the “original pattern [] or archetype []” [Po 30] that explains why some characteristics are shared between flowers. The second view, nominalism, focuses on the many before the one, claiming that the name is insignificant. Thus, a nominalist…

public acts. These days, literature has become less appealing to growing minds; the equivalent to a good book is now a good movie. Nevertheless, whatever our choice of entertainment of the times, we are effected by what we read or watch, right? On the contrary, a piece of literature is surely effected by its author. It is a type of domino effect; the author before effects the next author, steadily trickling moral decay through each generation. Why are we experiencing moral decay? Hold that…

certain virtuous state that humans can reach on their own without faith, but God and his grace perfects them. God, as the primary cause, creates secondary causes (creatures/humans), sustains them, and completes them, drawing them back to Him and offering grace. As Aquinas states, “He is the cause of action in every agent” (Aquinas Summa Theologica Ia 105.5). God causes action in secondary agents, however, human agency does not compete with God’s agency. “God works intimately” in all things, but…

Stoicism is commonly attributed to individuals who refuse to react to external stimuli, especially those of emotions or circumstances. This application of stoicism has its roots in the Greek philosophy, which taught students to be “indifferent or apathetic to those things which are not in our power” (Connolly, 1995). This concept of Nominalism, a rejection of universality and the abstract, focuses on controlling those things directly in the sphere of influence of an individual…