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Plato's theory of Forms posits that universals are real and exist independently as perfect embodiments which particular things attempt to imitate.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina) believed universals exist both in the external world as shared aspects of real things and in the mind as mental abstractions.

Scotus introduced the notion of 'haecceity' (thisness) to explain individuality, asserting the reality of universals but emphasizing that they do not exist as Platonic forms separate from individual things.

Henry espoused a form of realism in which universals are not only concepts but possess a real existence before individual instances, ultimately tied to divine ideas.

Boethius provided a bridge between ancient philosophy and medieval thought on universals, particularly through his translations and commentaries on Aristotle, suggesting that universals are conceptual entities.

Eckhart, a mystic, approached universals through a spiritual lens, viewing them as part of the soul's understanding of God's essence, incorporating both the Neoplatonic and Aristotelian traditions.

Abelard held a nominalist view, considering universals as mere labels or names (flatus vocis) for groups of individuals rather than real entities.

Duns Scotus proposed a form of realism where universals are real, existing in a manner apart from the mind yet not as separate entities from particulars.

William of Ockham famously advanced a form of nominalism stating that only individuals exist and universals are merely useful fictions for describing similarities between objects.

Aristotle rejected Plato's theory of separate forms; he posited that universals exist within things themselves and that they are real entities but not separate from particular objects.

St. Augustine combined Platonism with Christianity, suggesting that universals are divine ideas in the mind of God.

St. Anselm argues that universals exist before, in, and after particular objects; they are thoughts in the mind of God before their instantiation.

Roger Bacon argued for an empirical approach to the problem of universals, emphasizing the importance of observation, and was skeptical about the existence of universals apart from language and cognition.

Albertus Magnus was a proponent of moderate realism, maintaining that universals are concepts derived from common natures that exist within individual things.