Moving beyond Ockham: theories of categories in the early 14th century.

The problem of categories has preoccupied philosophers since antiquity. Can we establish a complete set of ultimate kinds and what precisely might these kinds be, e.g. substance, quality, relation, state, event, etc? Some philosophers argue that categories are entities, the basic building blocks of reality. Others think that categories are the basic concepts through we conceptualize the structure of reality in a most general fashion. Still others are skeptical of the entire endeavour. The first half of the 14th century was a period of exceptional philosophical originality. Many thinkers in this period developed divergent accounts of what there is (ontology) and how thought and language capture what there is (semantics). They represent a rich but largely under-appreciated episode in the history of theories of categories. The aim of this project is to determine and critically assess in depth for the first the breadth of theories of categories found in this period. It will focus on selected Oxford thinkers who, upon encountering the innovative thought of William of Ockham, were propelled into an often intense and always absorbing debate on categories. These authors, several of whom have barely been studied to date, were enormously perspicacious on intersecting ontological and semantic issues, including the problem of categories. Their part in the continuing and distinguished philosophical legacy of this problem deserves to be brought to light and made available to us today.