b. 1946
Claude Panaccio is a Canadian philosopher and historian of medieval philosophy, best known for his work on William of Ockham, nominalism, and medieval theories of mental language and concepts. He taught for many years at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and has been a leading figure in bringing medieval epistemology and philosophy of mind into dialogue with contemporary analytic philosophy. His scholarship traces how medieval thinkers handled cognition, signification, and the nature of universals.
Pioneering scholarly analysis of Ockham's theory of mental language and its contemporary relevance
Authored 'Ockham on Concepts' (2004), a landmark study of nominalist cognitive theory
Developed influential interpretations of the probabilis/apodictic distinction in medieval epistemology
Contributed entries and scholarship bridging medieval logic with modern philosophy of language
Promoted cross-period dialogue between Scholastic and analytic traditions in Anglo-American philosophy