Ockham: Philosophical Writings, A selection edited and translated by Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS Ockham: Philosophical Writings, A selection edited and translated by Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., 1957. Pp. lix—154. To the scholar or to the student interested in William Ockham, the late Father Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M. needs no introduction, because not only was he one of the leading authorities on Franciscan philosophy ofthe Middle Ages, but he was also a professor of philosophy who, through painstaking study and research, captured the genuine spirit of William Ockham. This volume is one of a series, each of which is edited by a scholar of special competence in those branches of philosophy with which it is particularly concerned. Father Philotheus prepared his selection with the view of making the understanding of Ockham's works less laborious for the ordinary reader but, in addition, throughout the book there is paramount concern for rendering a faithful account of Ockham's doctrine, and this will be apparent to the beginner and will be most keenly appreciated by the mature reader who has some experience in the study of the texts of Ockham. Attention is called to the unusually well-done and valuable introduction of fifty-nine pages which includes an excellent compilation in which the following matter is discussed: I. Background; II. Ockham's life; III. Ockham 's philosophy, 1. The leading ideas of Ockham's philosophy, 2. Epistemology , 3. Logic, 4. Metaphysics, 5. On creatures, 6. Ethics, 7. Politics; IV. Bibliographical section with helpful notes regarding : A. Ockham's non-political writings — i. Writings on Logic, 2. Writings on Physics, 3. Works on Theology ; B. Political writings; C. Spurious writings; and D. Select bibliography on Works of Ockham. Included in the biographical section are data in regard to the dating of the various works, their dependence and information as to whether they are preserved in manuscript form or as to whether they are to be found in printed editions. The corpus of Dr. Boehner's selection commences with a reading from the Prologue to the Expositio super octo libros Physicorum and it is entitled : "On the Notion of Knowledge or Science." Both a Latin text and a parallel English translation are given. Throughout the entire volume it was the endeavor of the editor to prepare texts which could be considered reliable. To accomplish this he made a comparative study of a number of good manuscripts, and while the fruits of his labors are not claimed to be critical, they can be rated as safe texts. A reading of this carefully prepared part reveals Ockham's clear exposition of 'knowledge' taken in many senses. After disclosing at least a half dozen viewpoints in regard to 'knowledge' there is a treatment of the difference between the object and subject of knowledge. The same selection embraces a scholarly consideration of the notion of 'science.' Another section of the book gives Ockham's views about Epistemological problems. Included are : The basis of immediate cognition; Intuitive cognition 218 BOOK REVIEWS219 of non-existent things; The primacy of cognition of singular things; The problem of universals; Scotus's opinion on universals and its refutation; The universal as a thought-object and as an act of the intellect. For those whose interest lies in Medieval Logic as well as for those whose field of endeavor is to be found in Contemporary Logic, the third division holds much of interest. Although this selection is culled from the Summa totius logicae, a work composed in the Middle Ages, it expresses the doctrine in connection with terms of one who spoke authoritatively for his age as well as for ours. To round out the leading ideas of Ockham's philosophy there are texts and translations on : The theory of 'Suppositio' ; Truth ; Inferential operations; Being, essence and existence; The possibility of a natural theology; The proof of God's existence; God's Causality and Foreknowledge; Physics and Ethics. In his own day Ockham was extremely well aware that the Magistri had an inadequate knowledge of the new Logic of supposition and of other points essential to his conceptualism. For their instruction and to explain in a fashion that could not be misconstrued the tenets of his philosophy...