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For many years and in a continuous, and sustainable manner, Universidad de San Buenaventura has developed an intellectual publishing policy created by the members of its academic community. During the first stage, 11 journals were published––one for each faculty. The first issue dates back to 1986.
During the second period, which started in 1998, a decision was made to consolidate the journals according to their subject-matter, and three institutional journals were established: Human Sciences, Management, and Development and Engineering. As compared to the current stages, the previous ones involved continuous effort and learning, which constitute our strength in this new step towards excellence.
In the second quarter of 2003, we saw the need to establish a single, institutional scientific journal for the qualification of our periodical publishing, , which we now deliver, and in which we provide to both the national and international academic and scientific community with the results of research conducted at our institution, as well as research carried out by other research groups and institutions. We have therefore decided to contribute to the development of the scientific and technological capital of our continent, our country, and our region, in a more rigorous, relevant manner.
We have named our Journal "Guillermo de Ockham” because he is an inspiring figure for scientific research and practice. Also, because he is an intellectual strongly linked to both our institutional identity and the Franciscan tradition that we are proud to be a part of. William of Ockham, a Franciscan philosopher, born in England between 1280 and 1290, and who possibly died in Munich, Germany, around 1349, studied philosophy and theology at Oxford University, where he received his bachelor’s degree. He started his teaching career by explaining the text «Sentences» by Peter Lombard––an academic prerequisite to obtain his master’s degree in theology, and which he failed to attain due to the opposition of the Chancellor of that University, John Lutterell, who considered some of his theses to be heresies and reported them to Pope John XXII. It is a paradox that one of the most famous thinkers of the Middle Ages could not be promoted to senior professor, or inceptor, and failed to get permission to teach at Universities. This is why, his disciples, understanding and with a feeling of irony, granted him the title of Venerabilis Inceptor.
William of Ockham’s works were critical of Platonism and Aristotelianism, based on a conception of experience and freedom that do not have their foundation in ideas a final reality. Such criticism distances him from both platonic-Augustinian comprehension and Thomistic comprehension, which, according to his understanding was closer to a Christian vision. By taking a stance that distances itself from both platonic idealism and aristotelian realism, he contributed to the expansion of the field of logic, while distinguishing two dimensions in the sign of the term: Meaning (significatio), which referrs to that which exists, and supposition (suppositio), which is the representation the term has in a proposition. The latter level, which Ockham derived from the former, is the true logic wherefrom scientific reasoning develops. It is the universal term for all individual things collected by their similarities, and it is the stuff that all reality is made of. The extension of the field of logic consists of, and ––with relative autonomy––and tunes in with, the significant development of the philosophy of language and semiotics in contemporary thinking. William of Ockham is an author whose ideas have validity in the current theoretical discussion, and encourages us to engage in fresh, enriching, suggestive dialogue.
William of Ockham claimed that all science is made up of propositions: Science deals with individual things by means of terms. This is where a principle of economy –“Ockham’s razor”– prevails, which consists of eradicating and avoiding unnecessary assumptions, and aims for sufficient, dynamic, concise reasoning. According to the current understanding of the disciplines related to the discourse of worldly phenomena, this theoretical research of scientific reasoning, led him to consider that there is not one single essential definition for each entity in a given scientia––it is known through the suppositio (assumption) of terms in the discourses gathered under such scientia. This gives rise to a number of definitions in different contexts of the discourse. “Ockham’s razor” removes the superfluous and unnecessary but pays great attention to the diverse: His economy lies in the freedom of singularities. Incommensurability as epistemological recognition ––also in agreement with the current assessment of plurality and difference––manifests itself in this diversity of scientific discourse, in the unyielding multiplicity of individual things, and in a moral order, stable but not unchanging, not eternal, subject to change based on current consensus. We are facing a thinker who opens himself up to diversity, and who lays down his present in the field of culture and science.
Furthermore, his philosophical reflection and his scientific logic, both contextualized in both the experience and the historical political issues of his time, help us overcome one of the current false dilemmas, as the show social relevance as one of the essential notes of academic quality. William of Ockham was among the first who explain––and did so and consequently with his recognition in fields of relative autonomy––the need to distinguish the temporary and ecclesiastic jurisdictions, the domains of the emperor and the Pope, the state, and the church, and a great deal of his final work dealt with this issue.
William of Ockham has been considered the last of the great thinkers of the Middle Ages, and as the first of the modern era. His way of thinking is a masterful effort to provide an ingenious answer to religious, political, cultural, and scientific issues in a time of transition and uncertainty, where the vast, old systems of thought collapsed, and paradigms wavered. Given that history has shown that these periods are not times of change but mere changes in time, they are privileged moments for dogmas, totalitarianism, and tyrannies to find a place, guided by those mediocre spirits who choose the easy path of injustice to face the uncertainty of change. Okham knew how to pose new problems and challenges, that lead to greater freedom of the spirit, conscience, and knowledge.
Possessing both the determination of a Franciscan and evangelical and scientific freedom, he faced all those who posed a threat to a new horizon of thought and addressed the task of always giving open answers from philosophy, technology, law, and politics. In order to do this, he had to help prove old answers and set out on new paths to reflection, a task that earned him much criticism and repercussions, which in turn lead with the stoicism of someone who is motivated by an endless passion for knowledge, which will never be extinguished, but is reason enough to strive for an existence.
For all of this, we are honored to have given our research production body the name of Guillermo de Ockham. |
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All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons License
