Ideas from 'Ordinatio' by William of Ockham [1320], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Ockham's Philosophical Writings' by Ockham,William of (ed/tr Boehner,P) [Hackett 1990,0-87220-078-7]].

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8. Modes of Existence / E. Nominalism / 1. Nominalism / b. Nominalism about universals

9103	A universal is not a real feature of objects, but only a thought-object in the mind

			Full Idea: I maintain that a universal is not something real that exists in a subject [of inherence], either inside or outside the mind, but that it has being only as a thought-object in the mind.
			From: William of Ockham (Ordinatio [1320], DII Qviii prima redactio)
			A reaction: [A footnote says that William later abandoned this view] I don't see a clear distinction here between having real existence in the mind, and being a thought-object in the mind. Maybe we should say 'merely' a thought-object?

18. Thought / E. Abstraction / 2. Abstracta by Selection

9104	A universal is the result of abstraction, which is only a kind of mental picturing

			Full Idea: A universal is not the result of generation, but of abstraction, which is only a kind of mental picturing.
			From: William of Ockham (Ordinatio [1320], DII Qviii prima redactio)
			A reaction: The phrase 'mental picturing' works very plausibly for the universal 'giraffe', but not so well for 'multiplication' or 'contradiction'. Though we might broaden 'picturing' to being a much less visual concept. Mapping seems basic.