Abstract

William of Ockham is commonly regarded as one of the most important philosophers in the later medieval period. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in Ockham’s thought, especially among analytically trained philosophers. This of course is not surprising, given the prominence of logical and semantic concerns in Ockham’s philosophy. For those wishing a philosophically rigorous introduction to Ockham’s thought this recent addition to the Cambridge Companion series should serve as a useful reference tool. The editor, Paul Spade, has brought together an excellent group of scholars, who provide extensive and highly sophisticated analyses of Ockham’s thought. The book promises to offer “a full discussion of all significant aspects of Ockham’s thought: logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics and natural philosophy, epistemology, ethics, action theory, political thought, and theology”. Although such a claim might invite some skepticism, the book’s fifteen chapters do indeed discuss a wide range of topics. Three chapters discuss Ockham’s logic; two chapters are devoted to his metaphysics; an overview of his philosophy of nature is given in one chapter ; and his epistemology is treated in two chapters. Three chapters address ethical themes; one chapter discusses Ockham’s political writings; and two chapters address theological concerns in Ockham. The book’s opening chapter describes the historical setting in which Ockham worked.