Descrizione

The so-called problem of universals raises with attempts to provide a philosophical account of generality. Generality is, in part, a fact of cognitive psychology: human beings have thoughts that apply to many individuals, for example, the thoughts of animal or man. This cognitive fact is uncontroversial, but it is not all there is to be said on generality. One must also explain how such general thoughts are formed and function, and how they are founded in the extramental world. In the late Middle Ages, many thinkers address these questions, providing a variety of interesting arguments and solutions.
This volume reconstructs the positions on universals of the principal philosophers of the XIV century, prefaced by two introductory chapters on late medieval nominalism and realism.