Nominalism in Late Medieval Times

[christianyouth]

I was listening to some lectures on the Reformation, and the speaker mentioned a shift toward Nominalism that occurred in Europe during the late medieval period, and that this shift changed the way people did theology.

If anyone has any information on this(hopefully it won't involve me buying a book), that would be great.

United in Christ,
- Andy

 

[Prufrock]

Andy, I can probably help you out with this one: what is that would like to know?

 

[Reformed Thomist]

If you do turn to literature (and you should, because this is a fascinating and difficult controversy in the history of philosophy), get this book:

Amazon.com: History of Philosophy, Volume 2: Frederick Copleston: Books

There are lots of other great titles dealing with the subject matter, but none of them come close to the above in terms of bang for your buck.

 

[christianyouth]

Hey Paul, I would like to know how the move toward Nominalism effected(effected or affected?) the Protestant/Catholic split, if it did.

Also, do you think the Bible supports Nominalism over against other philosophical positions(Realism, Conceptualism)?

Nathan, Thanks for the book suggestion. I've been hearing that book recommended a lot lately. It would be nice to have as a reference, so maybe I'll get it.

EDIT : I found a very in-depth article from the Catholic Encyclopedia about this. Though it doesn't address my questions.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11090c.htm

 

[DMcFadden]

Alister McGrath discusses this in several of his books. His Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation is particularly good.