Gyula Klima on Ockham, Nominalism, and the Via Moderna

About this episode

Gyula Klima discusses the medieval problem of universals and the divide between the via antiqua and the via moderna, focusing on William of Ockham's break with the realist tradition.

Gyula Klima discusses the medieval problem of universals, focusing on the divide between the via antiqua and the via moderna. The conversation centers especially on William of Ockham's break with the older realist tradition, drawing on Klima's article "What is Wrong with Nominalism?" (Divinitas, 2, 2025). Klima argues that the deepest shift is not simply metaphysical, but semantic: a new account of how words, concepts, and things are related.

People in this episode

Host: Samuel Walker Bennett

Guest: Gyula Klima

Topics covered

• medieval philosophy
• universals
• nominalism
• realism
• semantic shift
• Ockham's philosophy

Keywords

• Ockham
• nominalism
• universals
• medieval philosophy
• semantic shift
• realism
• via antiqua
• via moderna

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Divinitas

Books & works: What is Wrong with Nominalism?

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