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William of Ockham

William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347) was an English Franciscan friar, philosopher, and theologian. He is best known for Occam's Razor, a principle of parsimony or simplicity in problem-solving and theory-building, which states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. Ockham made significant contributions to logic, theology, and philosophy, and his ideas had a profound influence on later thinkers.

Here are few things to know:
- *William of Ockham*, also known as William Ockham and William of Occam, was an English philosopher and theologian of the 14th century.

- He was born in Ockham, Surrey, England, around 1285 and died in Munich, Bavaria, between 1347 and 1349.

- He is regarded as the founder of nominalism, a school of thought that denies that universal concepts have any reality apart from the individual things signified by the universal or general term.

- He is also known for the medieval rule of logical economy known as Ockham's Razor, which states that the simpler theory is more likely to be true.

- He was excommunicated by Pope John XXII for his defense of the Franciscan notion of poverty and the rights of the empire against the papacy.

Contribution in political science

Here are some of William of Ockham's contributions to political science:

- Separation of Church and State: He was one of the first medieval authors to advocate for a form of church-state separation and believed that the pope and churchmen have no right or grounds for secular rule.

- Limited Government: He believed in the concept of government with limited responsibility and advocated for the idea that earthly rulers serve the interests of the people, not special interests.

- Social Contract Theory: He preceded Thomas Hobbes in formulating social contract theory, which posits that people have the power to set their rulers and that rulers should serve the interests of the people.

- Property Rights: He was important for the early development of the notion of property rights and argued that individuals have the right to own property.

- Constitutional Ideas: His political ideas are regarded as "natural" or "secular," holding for a secular absolutism, and he influenced the Conciliar movement and the emergence of democratic ideologies.
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