ockhamism
Etymology
From Ockham + -ism.
ockhamism means A nominalist school of philosophical thought founded by William of Ockham in the 14th century. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “ockhamism” is a great word
OCKHAMISM — [Noun] A philosophical principle of parsimony, originating in the 14th century, which holds that entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity. From the proper name Ockham (referring to William of Ockham) + the suffix -ism (denoting a system, principle, or ideological movement). Unlike Thomism (which builds intricate realist architectures of being) or medieval Realism (which grants abstract categories a tangible existence), Ockhamism pares down ontology to the sharp edge of the particular. It is the clean, cold blade of a razor slicing through the thicket of metaphysical entities, the austere scent of a monk's cell where complex entities are not multiplied, and the sudden, disquieting warmth of a universe contracted to its bare, singular particulars—a philosophy that finds its ultimate truth not in what it adds to the world, but in what it courageously subtracts.
noun
- A nominalist school of philosophical thought founded by William of Ockham in the 14th century.