Nominalism

Nominalism

A school of thought that came about in the early 14th century from Philosopher William of Ockham and was one of teh schools of thought that contributed to the medieval. This school of thought believed that God was unknowable through human reason. Humanness tells us nothing about what is in God's mind since it is a term constructed by humans. Human reason was limited and the terms we use to describe our attributes (like our humanness) are just terms and do not represent a real thing. Thus, using our attributes cannot describe God.

Another key and critical issue is the belief that God's will is what dictates what is good. God's will is not good because it coincides with good actions, actions are good because they follow God's will. This was a favored belief during the plagues since God could be depicted as a God of Fear and the death was a natural consequence of this God.