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Annotated Bibliography of the Medieval Theories of Supposition and Mental Language: A - L


  1. Adams, Marilyn McCord. 1976. "What Does Ockham Means by Supposition?" Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic no. 17:5-37.

    "I focus on William Ockham's general account in "Summa Logicae" I, chapter 63, of what it is for a term to supposit for something in a proposition, and consider two interpretations of it. I first construe Ockham as offering the following nominal definition of 'supposition': (I) "Z" supposits for "X" in "P", if and only if "Z" is a term of "p" and 'this is "a"' (where 'this' indicates "x") is true, where general terms are substituted for '"a"'; names of substitutions for '"A"', for '"Z"'; names of propositions for '"P"'; and proper names for '"X"'. I argue that (I) is inadequate both as a definition of suppositing-in-some-way-or-other for something or of any particular kind of supposition. An alternative interpretation is to take Ockham as giving his general account of supposition when he says it is being posited for something in a proposition. On this interpretation, less problematic definitions of material and simple supposition are available. But the notion of being posited for, which is at least as obscure as the notion of supposition, is left unanalysed. On the first interpretation, this is the analysis that (I) is taken to provide."

  2. Amerini, Fabrizio. 1999. "Il Tractatus De Suppositionibus Terminorum Di Francesco Da Prato O.P. Una Rilettura Della Dottrina Ockhamista Del Linguaggio." Medioevo no. 25:441-550.

  3. Apel, Karl-Otto. 1973. "Sprachliche Wahrheit Als Richtige Representation Der Wirklichkeit Durch Ein Zeichensystem (Ockhams Suppositionstheorie)." In Transformation Der Philosophie, 112-126.

  4. Arens, Hans. 1980. "Verbum Cordis. Zur Sprachphilosophie Des Mittelalters." Historiographia Linguistica no. 7:13-25.

  5. Arnold, Erwin. 1952. "Zur Geschichte Der Suppositiontheorie. Die Wurzeln Des Modernen Europäischen Subjektivismus." Symposion.Jahrbuch für Philosophie no. 3:1-134.

  6. Ashworth, Earline Jennifer. 1969. "The Doctrine of Supposition in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries." Archiv fur Geschichte der Philosophie no. 51:260-285.

    "It is often assumed that the logic of terms, including supposition theory, was despised and ignored by the logicians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in spite of the sophistication with which it had been developed during the later middle ages.


    It is perhaps not surprising that when I looked at some eighty textbooks written during the period in question, I discovered that as many as twenty authors not only referred to the doctrine of supposition sympathetically, but usually went on to offer a detailed analysis which is neither a slavish nor an inept echo of what the mediaeval logicians had said." pp. 260-271

  7. ———. 1973. "Priority of Analysis and Merely Confused Supposition." Franciscan Studies no. 33:38-41.

    Discussion of: Swiniarski "A new presentation of Ockham's theory of supposition with an evaluation of some contemporary criticism".

    "In this paper I criticize the argument put forward by Swiniarski that Ockham should have adopted the priority of analysis rule whereby the subject is analysed before the predicate, and that had he adopted such a rule, merely confused supposition would have become unnecessary. I point out that in later medieval logic explicit priority of analysis rules were adopted, whereby terms with determinate supposition were analysed first, whether they were subject or predicate. I also discuss the use made of merely confused supposition, particularly in the analysis of the relationship between "all A is B" and "only B is A"."

  8. ———. 1978. "Multiple Quantification and the Use of Special Quantifiers in Early Sixteenth Century Logic." Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic no. 19:599-613.

    "In this paper I discuss two interrelated topics to do with supposition theory and the extensionalist analysis of propositions: 1) the use of 'A' and 'B' as special signs to produce respectively merely confused and determinate supposition in the terms following them; 2) the analysis of such non-standard propositions as 'there are some men all of whose donkeys are running.' In addition, I show how logicians in the medieval tradition handled such invalid inferences as 'every man has a head, therefore there is a head that every man has'."

  9. ———. 1981. "Mental Language and the Unity of Propositions: A Semantic Problem Discussed by Early Sixteenth Century Logicians." Franciscan Studies no. 41:61-96.

    "In the 14th century Gregory of Rimini argued that (1) there is a mental language separate from spoken language and (2) mental propositions are unified wholes with no discernible parts. This article examines the reactions of later logicians, showing that they accepted the doctrine of mental language; but argued that mental propositions must have a discernible structure, which involves parts."

  10. ———. 1982. "The Structure of Mental Language: Some Problems Discussed by Early Sixteenth Century Logicians." Vivarium no. 20:59-83.

    Reprinted in: Studies in post-medieval semantics.

    "Given their belief in mental language, late medieval logicians felt the need to give some account of its structure. I explore their different views on the part played by syncategorematic terms, impersonal and other verbs, demonstratives, pronouns, case, number and gender. I show that Ockham's views were not universally followed; and I argue that mental language was not necessarily thought of as an ideal logical language."

  11. Baccin, Nadia Anna. 1977. "Supposizione Confusa Tantum E Descensus." Medioevo no. 3:285-300.

  12. Bazán, Bernardo Carlos. 1979. "La Signification Des Termes Communs Et La Doctrine De La Supposition Chez Maitre Siger De Brabant." Revue Philosophique de Louvain no. 35:345-372.

    "Having as his principle objective the study of declarative propositions, of the predicative structure, Siger showed that the meaning of the general term is constant because it refers to changing things signified by the intermediary of the consignified concept. The "intelligible unity" of the essence grasped in the concept is the basis for the unity of the meaning relative to the "existential diversity" of things. The analysis of meaning appears insufficient when one takes into consideration the concrete symbolic function of the term at the centre of a given proposition. It is here that the doctrine of the "suppositio" comes into play. Essentially this doctrine distinguishes between the signifying function of the term and its completing function relative to the diversity of the predicates."

  13. Berger, Harald. 1991. "Simple Supposition in William of Ockham, John Buridan and Albert of Saxony." In Itinéraires D'albert De Saxe., edited by Biard, Joël, 31-43. Paris: Vrin.

  14. Beuchot, Mauricio. 1988. "La Teoría Semántica Medieval De La Suppositio." In Filosofía Y Cultura Medievales, edited by González, Ruiz E., 42-51. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

  15. ———. 1991. "Albert De Saxe: La Supposition Sémantique Et Les Noms Vides." In Itinéraires D'albert De Saxe, edited by Biard, Joël, 111-124. Paris: Vrin.

  16. ———. 1994. "La Suposición Semántica Y Su Actualidad. Desarrollo Histórico Y Actualidad De La Teória Escólastica De La Suposición Semántica." In Metafísica, Lógica Y Lenguaje En La Filosofía Medieval, 137-143. Barcelona: Promociones y Publicaciones Universitaria, S.A.

  17. Biard, Joël. 1997. "Intention Et Signification Chez Guillaume D'ockham. La Critique De L'être Intentionnel." In Langages Et Philosophie. Hommage À Jean Jolivet, edited by Libera, Alain de, Elamrani-Jamal, Abdelali and Galonnier, Alain, 201-220. Paris: Vrin.

  18. ———, ed. 2009. Le Langage Mental Du Moyen Âge À L'âge Classique. Paris: Vrin.

    "La connaissance du monde s'exprime en propositions, que celles-ci soient considérées, selon les théories, comme objets ou comme moyens de la science. Le problème de la relation entre ces entités linguistiques et les représentations mental (intellections, intentions, concepts...) a une longue histoire qui remonte au traité De l'interprétation d'Aristote et aux commentaires de Boèce. Après Guillaume d'Ockham, en effet, l'idée de langage mental est certes une hypothèse qui a acquis force et consistance, mais tous les problèmes liés à la structuration de la pensée et au rapport entre le langage parlé et la pensée ne sont pas résolus. Des questions surgissent sur la structuration même de ce langage.

    Le colloque organisé à Tours du 1er au 3 décembre 2005 sous les auspices de la Fondation européenne de la science (European Science Foundation) avait l'ambition de parcourir ces questions en repartant d'Augustin qui est l'initiale médiévale du problème, et en suivant cette histoire jusqu'à l'aube des Temps modernes. Ce parcours historique donc fait une part importante au Moyen Âge tardif, à la Renaissance et au XVIIe siècle. En même temps, notre ambition était aussi d'approfondir certains enjeux proprement philosophiques de ce parcours. L'horizon général est la question: est-il possible de considérer le domaine de la pensée comme étant structuré à la manière d'un langage, et par quels moyens conceptuels penser cela?"

    Table des Matières: Joël Biard: Présentation V; Isabelle Koch: Le verbum in corde chez Augustin 1; Bérangère Hurand: La locutio mentis: une version anselmienne du verbe intérieur 29; Cyrille Michon: Les représentations rendent-elles indirecte la connaissance des choses? 45; Irène Rosier-Catach: Une forme particulière de langage mental: la locutio angelica selon Gilles de Rome et ses contemporains 61; Russell Friedman: Mental Propositions before Mental Language 95; Claude Panaccio: Le jugement comme acte mental selon Guillaume d' Ockham 117; Simo Knuuttila: Ockham on Fallacies and Mental Language 135; Aurélien Robert: Les deux langages de la pensée. A propos de quelques réflexions médiévales 145; Joël Biard: Pierre d'Ailly: langage, concept, représentation 169; Paloma Pérez-Ilzarbe: Jeronimo Pardo on the unity of mental propositions 185; Henrik Lagerlind: John Mair on Concepts 205; Fosca Mariani Zini: Topique et argumentation dans le premier humanisme italien 221; Marie-Luce Demonet: Que reste-t-il du langage mental dans les textes philosophiques français à la fin de la Renaissance? 241; Martine Pécharman: De quel langage intérieur Hobbes est-il le théoricien? 265; Calvin Normore: The End of Mental Language 293; Jacob Schmutz: Quand le langage a-t-il cessé d'être mental? Remarques sur les sources scolastiques de Bolzano 307; Bibliographie 339; Index Nominum 359 - 364

  19. Boehner, Philotheus. 1946. "Ockham's Theory of Supposition and the Notion of Truth." Franciscan Studies no. 6:261-292.

    Reprinted in: Collected articles on Ockham (pp.237-267)

  20. ———. 1958. "A Medieval Theory of Supposition." Franciscan Studies no. 18:240-289.

  21. Boh, Ivan. 1965. "Paul of Pergola on Supposition and Consequences." Franciscan Studies no. 25:30-89.

    Text, translation and commentary

  22. ———. 1966. "Propositional Connectives, Supposition and Consequence in Paul of Pergola." Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic no. 7:109-128.

  23. Boler, John. 1972. "Ockham's Mental Language (Abstract)." Journal of Philosophy no. 69:676-676.


  25. ———. 1987. "La Théorie De La Signification De La Vox Significativa Ad Placitum (Nomen, Verbum, Oratio) Dans Les Introductiones Montane Maiores." In Gilbert De Poitiers Et Ses Contemporains Aux Origines De La Logica Modernorum., edited by Jolivet, Jean and Libera, Alain de, 73-90. Napoli: Bibliopolis.

    Actes du septième symposium européen d'histoire de la logique et de la sémantique médiévales. Centre d' études supérieures de civilisation médiévale de Poitiers 17 22 Juin 1985.

  26. ———. 1997. "Speaking About Signs. Fourteenth-Century Views on Suppositio Materialis." Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik no. 48:71-86.

    "The principal questions in my paper are the following: How did the medieval semanticists indicate the autonymous use of words? Does the subject term in such a proposition express a linguistic item (itself, or its likes) because of the determination by the predicate? Or is it dependent on the will or intention of man, the voluntas utentium, as Ockham calls it?

    Or is it a convention that determines the use of terms? Is a signum materialitatis (a sign, or mark, indicating material supposition) necessary? To what extent do the Medievals distinguish the autonymous use of language from other uses? Or is this kind of language meaningless?

    There is hardly any secondary literature on this subject. (*)" p. 75

    (*) M. Bochenski, Formale Logik (München 1970 (1956). 188-193; CA. Dufour, Die Lehre der Proprietates Terrrunorum. Sinn und Referenz in mittelalterlicher Logik (München/Hamden/Vv'ien 1989). 172-188. (Dufour tries to reconstruct the medieval theory of the properties of terms with the help of modern formal logic. This very interesting study did not obtain the attention it deserves, I feel). E. Karger, 'La supposition matérielle comme supposition significative: Paul de Venise, Paul de Pergola', in English Logic in Italy in the 14th and 15th Centuries. Acts of the 5th European Symposium on Medieval Logic and Semantics, Rome, 10-14 november 1980, ed. by A. Maierù (Napoli). 331-342. In a penetrating analysis, Karger discusses the difficulties arising from the 'mentioning' of terms in relation to the general semantical theory of a philosopher.

  27. ———. 2000. "Die Rezeption Der Suppositiones Des Marsilius Von Inghen in Paris (Johannes Dorp) Und Prag (Ein Anonymer Sophistriatraktat) Um 1400." In Philosophie Und Theologie Des Ausgehenden Mittelalters. Marsilius Von Inghen Und Das Denken Seiner Zeit, edited by Hoenen, Marten and Bakker, Paul J.J.M., 213-238. Leiden: Brill.

  28. ———, ed. 2013. Medieval Supposition Theory Revisited. Studies in Memory of L. M. De Rijk. Leiden: Brill.



  29. ———. 2077. "Richard Billingham's Speculum Puerorum, Some Medieval Commentaries and Aristotle." Vivarium no. 45:360-373.


  30. Bottin, Francesco. 2000. "Linguaggio Mentale E Atti Di Pensiero in Guglielmo Di Ockham." Veritas.Revista de Filosofia no. 45:349-359.

    "William Ockham developed themes of epistemology which place him in position which can easily be compared to that of modern thinkers. Such is notably the case of his works on mental language, for instance, which bring him closer to certain theories elaborated by Hilary Putnam, especially his theory of representation."

  31. ———. 2005. Filosofia Medievale Della Mente. Padova: Il Poligrafo.

  32. Brands, H. 1990. "Die Zweifache Einleitung Der Formalen Supposition Bei William of Sherwood." In Knowledge and the Sciences in Medieval Philosophy, edited by Knuuttila, Simo, Tyorinoja, R. and Ebbesen, Sten, 445-454.

    Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of medieval philosophy. Helsinki 24-29 August 1987. vol. II

  33. Brown, Deborah J. 1996. "The Puzzle of Names in Ockham's Theory of Mental Language." Review of Metaphysics no. 50:79-99.

    "In his writings on semantics and logic, William of Ockham combines two very strong claims about mental language: that mental terms are naturally prior to and determinative of the signification of conventional signs and that mental language contains neither synonymous nor equivocal terms. (1) The first claim represents the role mental language has in explaining the origins, structure, and content of thought and language. Ockham was, as many commentators have observed, a conceptual empiricist but it would be a mistake to think that he was primarily concerned with the psychological processes that underlie our representational system. The second claim indicates that the theory of mental language is primarily a theory of signification or a semantics. The notion of a redundancy-free mental language is an idealization crafted for its explanatory role in Ockham's semantics.

    The notion of a mental language devoid of synonymous and ambiguous terms raises puzzles which threaten the internal coherence of the project. These puzzles concern a species of categorematic terms in mental language, Ockham's absolute terms, and are not unlike the puzzles about proper names in Kripkean semantics. Although I am skeptical that Ockham's theory is adequate to the dual tasks of being a semantics as well as a psychological thesis, I shall argue that the wrong response to these puzzles is to forfeit the theory's status as a semantic theory by giving up the commitment to parsimony."

    (1) Ockham's most sustained development of the theory of mental language is in Summa Logicae I, in Opera Philosophica I, ed. Philotheus Boehner, Gedeon Gal, Stephen S. Brown (St. Bonaventure, NY: The Franciscan Institute, 1974).

  34. Brown, Stephen F. 1972. "Walter Burleigh's Treatise De Suppositionibus and Its Influence on William of Ockham." Franciscan Studies no. 32:15-64.

    "This early work of Walter Burleigh (written circa 1302), here edited, is one of the sources of Ockham's "Summa logicae". At times it supplies Ockham with material he adopts; at times it shares with the works of others the role of opposition. Also it is one of the sources which Ockham opposes in his 'commentary on the sentences'. In relation to earlier works of the 12th and 13th centuries it shows some technical advances while essentially holding onto the traditional teaching. Burleigh's later treatment of supposition in the 'de puritate' is a restatement of this early treatise in light of Ockham's 'Summa logicae' critique of the 'realist' position."

  35. ———. 1975. "Gerard Odon's De Suppositionibus." Franciscan Studies no. 35:5-44.

    New edition by L. M. De Rijk as: Liber Secundum: De suppositionibus (pp. 231-292) in: Giraldus Odonis O. F. M. Opera Philosophica - volume one: Logica - Critical editions from the manuscripts - Leiden, Brill, 1997

  36. ———. 1993. "Medieval Supposition Theory in Its Theological Context." Medieval philosophy and theology (3):121-157.

    In appendix: Walter Chatton: Lectura in I Sent. 4.1.1-2.

  37. ———. 2009. "Gerald Odonis' Tractatus De Suppositionibus: What Is Suppositio Communicabilis?" Vivarium no. 47:205-220.

    "The Tractatus de suppositionibus, which is cited by Gerald Odonis in his commentary on the Sentences, probably dates from ca. 1315-25. In the Sentences commentary he refers to his treatment of 'suppositio communicabilis' and its species, indicating a type of supposition whose language seems new. This article attempts to find a source for it in contemporary authors and arrives at the conclusion that 'communicabilis' is simply a synonym for 'personalis', the most common form of supposition according to Odonis."

  38. Bubacz, Bruce S. 1985. "La Teoría De Lenguaje Interior En San Augustin Y En Guillermo De Occam." Augustinus.Revista trimestral publicada por los Agustinos recoletos no. 30:383-391.

  39. Burton, Patricia Shelby. 1990. "Suppositio Naturalis" and the Truth Conditions of the Propositions of Demonstrative Science, The University of Texas at Austin.

    UMI Dissertation Express reference number 9105524.

  40. Carvalho, Mário A.de Santiago. 1986. "A Teoria Da Suppositio Na Semântica Ockhamista." Biblos no. 62:91-149.

  41. Chalmers, David. 1999. "Is There Synonymy in Ockham's Mental Language?" In The Cambridge Companion to Ockham, edited by Spade, Paul Vincent, 76-99. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  42. Chiesa, Curzio. 1991. "Le Problème Du Langage Intérieur Chez Les Stoiciens." Revue Internationale de Philosophie no. 178:301-321.

  43. ———. 1992. "Le Problème Du Langage Intérieur Dans La Philosophie Antique De Platon À Porphyre." Histoire, Épistémologie, Langage no. 14:15-30.

  44. Cocchiarella, Nino. 2001. "A Logical Reconstruction of Medieval Terminist Logic in Conceptual Realism." Logical Analysis and History of Philosophy no. 4:35-72.

    "The framework of conceptual realism provides a logically ideal language within which to reconstruct the medieval terminist logic of the 14th century. The terminist notion of a concept, which shifted from Ockham's early view of a concept as an intentional object (the fictum theory) to his later view of a concept as a mental act (the intellectio theory), is reconstructed in this framework in terms of the idea of concepts as unsaturated cognitive structures.

    Intentional objects (ficta) are not rejected but are reconstructed as the objectified intentional contents of concepts.

    Their reconstruction as intentional objects is an essential part of the theory of predication of conceptual realism. It is by means of this theory that we are able to explain how the identity theory of the copula, which was basic to terminist logic, applies to categorical propositions. Reference in conceptual realism is not the same as supposition in terminist logic. Nevertheless, the various "modes" of personal supposition of terminist logic can be explained and justified in terms of this conceptualist theory of reference."

  45. Corcoran, John, and Swiniarski, John J. 1978. "Logical Structures of Ockham's Theory of Supposition." Franciscan Studies no. 38:161-183.

    "This exposition of Ockham's theory of (common, personal) supposition involves the logical form of the four descent/ascent conditions and the logical relations of these with the three main modes of supposition. Central theses: each condition is a one-way entailment, each mode is a truth-functional combination of conditions, two of the three modes are not even coextensive with the two-way entailments commonly taken as their definitions. Ockham's idea of "the singulars" of a general proposition is vague and problematic and the entailment used in the descent/ascent conditions probably cannot be taken to be logical consequence in any strict sense."

  46. Corti, Enrique C. 1981. "Significación, Suposición Y Verdad En La Summa Logicae De Guillermo De Ockham." Cuadernos del Sur (14):141-155.

  47. Courtenay, William. 1984. "Force of Words and Figures of Speech. The Crisis over Virtus Sermonis in the Fourteenth Century." Franciscan Studies no. 44:107-128.

  48. Coxito, Amândio. 1981. Lógica, Semântica E Conhecimento Na Escolastica Peninsular Pré-Renascentista. Coimbra: Biblioteca Geral da Universidade.

    See Chapter VI. A teoria da "suppositio" pp. 201-241.

  49. ———. 1989. "Las Doctrinas De La Significatio Y De La Suppositio En Pedro Hispano." Pensamiento no. 45:227-238.

  50. ———. 2001. "Pedro Da Fonseca. A Teoria Da Suposição E O Seu Contexto Excolástico." Revista Filosofica de Coimbra no. 10:285-311.

  51. Dinneen, Francis P. 1990. "Suppositio in Petrus Hispanus. Linguistic Theories and Models." In De Ortu Grammaticae. Studies in Medieval Grammar and Linguistics Theory in Memory of Jan Pinborg, edited by Bursill-Hall, Geoffrey L., Ebbesen, Sten and Koerner, Konrad, 69-85. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

  52. D'Ors, Angel. 1991. "De Mixta Suppositione." In Meeting on Logic and Philosophy of Science. Madrid 13-15 November 1991. Rudolf Carnap and Hans Reichenbach in Memoriam, 73-81. Madrid: Comunicaciones.

  53. Ducrot, Oswald. 1976. "Quelques Implications Linguistiques De La Théorie Médiévale De La Supposition." In History of Linguistic Thought and Contemporary Linguistics, edited by Parret, Herman, 189-227. Berlin New York: Walter de Gruyter.

  54. Dufour, Carlos A. 1989. Die Lehre Der Proprietates Terminorum. Sinn Und Referenz in Mittelaterlicher Logik, Analytica. Munchen, Hamden, Wien: Philosophia Verlag.

    "The present volume is a detailed and original study of the traditional, doctrine of terms. It can be regarded as an attempt to tackle the question: ,How would the scholastic philosophers have conceived and defended their doctrine bad they bad at their disposal the methods and techniques of contemporary logic and semantics? The answer provided, a systematic reconstruction of a number of important ideas in the history of logic, is both formally illuminating and entirely faithful to the relevant text.

    The work begins with a general exposition of the doctrine of terns oriented around the basic semantic opposition between significatio and suppositio, analogues of the more familiar notions of sense and reference.

    As a means of providing a precise and coherent reconstruction of the doctrine the author does not simply provide the predictable translation of the more amenable passages into the language of predicate logic. Rather he develops, on the basis of a careful systematization of the texts themselves, a formalization of his own, incorporating an ontology of substance and accident. The advantages of this approach are revealed in its capacity to provide both a simple reconstruction of syllogistic logic by means of a sequent-calculus and a natural extension of this logic to a theory of supposition.

    Taking into consideration the categories of substance and accident in place of the more usual apparatus of set and element allows the author to develop a formalized theory of objects in which the two categories are allowed to yield composite objects of various sorts. This makes possible an illuminating application of the theory of concreta and abstracta (square of permutations) both to the theory of ampliatio and appellatio and to modal syllogistics.

    The work concludes with a sketch of possible further developments and an attempted demonstration of the philosophical relevance of the theory in the light of a critical consideration of the relevant secondary literature."

  55. Ebbesen, Sten. 1979. "The Dead Man Is Alive." Synthese no. 40:43-70.

    "English late 13th century logicians paid greater attention to the reference (suppositio) of terms than contemporary Parisian logicians ('modistae'), who concentrated on the unchangeable meaning (significatio) allotted to terms by 'impositio'. Discussions of the sophism 'this is a dead man, therefore this is a man' revealed weaknesses in modism and contributed to the 14th century acceptance of ockham-style suppositio semantics at Paris (Buridan & al.). Appendix contains texts by Radulphus Brito and two anonymi."

  56. ———. 1981. "Early Supposition Theory (12th-13th Century)." Histoire, Épistémologie, Langage no. 3/1:35-48.


    "The theory of supposition with the associated theories of copulatio (sign-capacity of adjectival terms), ampliatio (widening of referential domain), and distributio constitute one of the most original achievements of Western medieval logic. There is nothing really similar in any ancient text the medievals knew -though surely some Stoic writings once contained investigations of the problems these theories deal with -- nor had contemporary Byzantium anything similar.

    The twelfth century produced a considerable harvest of rules about the referential range of terms in various contexts. When the 13th century arrived, a standard terminology had prevailed with such names as suppositio confusa and suppositio determinata for some particularly important types of referential range and a chapter on supposition had become a standard feature of Introductions to Logic (summulae). But then the development of the theory stopped. It appears that at least on the Continent, the chapter on supposition in the summulae became one that young students would be taught very early in their career, perhaps before entering university; and then forget all about through the rest of their student career.

    In this paper I shall refrain from listing treatises 'de suppositionibus'; I shall on the whole refrain from following the developments of terminology and systematics. The spade-work in those fields has been done by De Rijk in his Logica Modernorum.

    I >will try to point to and explain some characteristic features of 12th and early 13th speculation about supposition without going into details and without paying much attention to the opinions of individual authors, not even when they protest they disagree with something I say they thought. I am not looking for the particular, but for general attitudes and patterns of thought underlying their investigation of suppositio."

  57. Enders, Heinz Werner. 1975. Sprachlogische Traktate Des Mittelalters Und Die Semantikbegriff: Ein Historisch-Systematischer Beitrag Zur Frage Der Semantischen Grundlegung Formaler Systeme, Veröffentlichungen Des Grabmann-Institutes Zur Erforschung Der Mittelarterlichen Theologie Und Philosophie. Paderborn: Verlag Ferdinand Schöning.

  58. Ferrer, Vincent. 1909. "De Supposicionibus Dialectices." In Oeuvres De Saint Vincent Ferrer. (First Volume). Paris.

    See now the critical edition edited by John Allen Trentam 1977 (listed below)

  59. ———. 1977. Tractatus De Suppositionibus. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzborg.

    Critical edition with an introduction (pp. 11-86) by John Allen Trentman

  60. Fitzgerald, Michael Joseph. 1982. Supposition and Signification. An Examination of Ockham's Theory of Reference, Ph. D. Dissertation Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey (New Brunswick).

    UMI Dissertation Express reference number 8221663

  61. Forcada, V. 1973. "Momento Historico Del Tratado De Suppositionibus De San Vincente Ferrer." Escritos del Vedat:37-89.

  62. Freddoso, Alfred J. 1979. "O-Propositions and Ockham's Theory of Supposition." Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic no. 20:741-750.

  63. Freitas, Antonio de. 1999. "La Teoria De La Suposición En Pedro Hispano." Revista Venezolana de Filosofia (39-40).

  64. Galonnier, Alain. 1987. "Le De Grammatico Et L'origine De La Théorie Des Propriétés Des Termes." In Gilbert De Poitiers Et Ses Contemporains, edited by Jolivet, Jean and Libera, Alain de, 353-375. Napoli: Bibliopolis.

  65. Garcia Cuadrado, José Angel. 1991. "La Teoría De La Suposición En Los Tratados Filosóficos De San Vicente Ferrer." In Excerpta E Dissertationibus in Philosophia, 325-349. Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra.

    Abstract of the Ph.D: thesis presented at the University of Navarra

  66. ———. 1992. "La Paradojia Del Análisis Linguistico En La Lógica De San Vicente Ferrer." In Actas Del I Congreso Nacional De Filosofía Medieval, Saragosse, 12-14 December 1990, edited by Lomba Fuentes, J.M., 315-323. Saragosse, Ibercaja.

  67. ———. 1993. "Aspectos Gnoseológicos De La Suppositio Naturalis De San Vicente Ferrer." Analogía Filosófica.Revista de Filosófia no. 7:153-167.

    "The comparison between "suppositio naturalis" by Pedro Hispano and Vincent Ferrer, clearly shows us the gnoseological differences underlining the theory of one supposition from the other. Vincent Ferrer speaks of a "moderate realism" as seen by Thomas Aquinas; Ferrer proposes a new notion and classification of the "suppositio naturalis" which helps to solve some of the logical-semantic problems raised by the theory of supposition by Pedro Hispano."

  68. ———. 1994. Hacia Una Semantica Realista. La Filosofía Del Lenguaje De San Vicente Ferrer. Pamplona: Eunsa.

  69. ———. 1998. "Una Fuente Inédita De La Teoría De La Suposición En Vicente Ferrer: La Polémica Burleigh-Ockham." Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval no. 5.

    "The 14th century controversy between William of Ockham and Walter Burleigh led to the publication of autonomous treatises on the theory of supposition, such as William Sutton's Textus de Suppositionibus. Significant parallels may be found between this treatise and the Tractatus de Suppositionibus of Vincent Ferrer; such coincidences lead to the formulation of the hypothesis of a direct influence of Sutton on Ferrer."

  70. Geach, Peter Thomas. 1957. Mental Acts: Their Content and Their Objects. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Section 23 (pp. 101-106) is on Ockham's the theory of mental language.

  71. ———. 1962. Reference and Generality. An Examination of Some Medieval and Modern Theories. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Second emended editon 1968; third revised and expanded edition 1980.

  72. ———. 1976. "Distribution and Suppositio." Mind no. 84:432-435.

  73. Gelber, Hester Goodenough. 1984. "I Cannot Tell a Lie. Hugh Lawton's Critique of Ockham on Mental Language." Franciscan Studies no. 44:141-179.

    "The article describes the evolution of Ockham's theory of mental language and its impact on three of his dominican contemporaries at oxford: Hugh Lawton, William Crathorn and Robert Holcot, and its impact at Paris on the works of Gregory of Rimini and Pierre d'Ailly. Hugh Lawton's critical response to Ockham relied on a liar-like paradox to show that mental language would preclude the ability to lie. Crathorn devised an alternative to Ockham's theory in reaction, whereas Holcot defended Ockham's views. At Paris, the debate suggested a solution to the liar paradox to Gregory of Rimini."

  74. Giacon, Carlo. 1969. "La Suppositio in Guglielmo Di Occam E Il Valore Reale Delle Scienze." In Arts Libéraux Et Philosophie Au Moyen Âge, 939-947. Montréal, Paris: Vrin.

    Actes du quatrième Congrés international de philosophie médiévale. Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada. 27 Août - 2 Septembre 1967

  75. Gibson, Joan. 1976. The Role of Mental Language in the Philosophy of William of Ockham, Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Toronto.

  76. Henry, Desmond Paul. 1963. "The Early History of Suppositio." Franciscan Studies no. 23:205-212.

  77. ———. 1964. "Ockham, Suppositio, and Modern Logic." Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic no. 5:290-292.

  78. ———. 1981. "Suppositio and Significatio in English Logic." In English Logic and Semantics from the End of the Twelfth Century to the Time of Ockham and Burleigh., edited by Braakhuis, Henk A.G. and Kneepkens, Corneille Henry, 361-387. Nijmegen: Ingenium Publishers.

  79. Hülsen, Reinhard. 2000. "Understanding the Semantics of "Relativa Grammaticalia". Some Medieval Logicians on Anaphoric Pronouns." In Reference and Anaphoric Relations, edited by Heusinger, Klaus von and Egli, Urs, 31-46. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

  80. Inciarte, Fernando. 1974. "Die Suppositionstheorie Und Die Anfänge Der Extensionalen Semantik." In Antiqui Und Moderni. Traditionbewusstsein Und Fortschrittsbewusstsein Im Späten Mittelalter, edited by Albert, Zimmermann, 126-141. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

  81. Kann, Christoph. 1990. "Zur Suppositionstheorie Alberts Von Sachsen." In Knowledge and the Sciences in Medieval Philosophy, edited by Knuuttila, Simo, Tyorinoja, R. and Ebbesen, Sten, 512-520. Helsinki: Yliopistopaino.

    Proceedings of the Eight International Congress of Medieval Philosophy, Helsinki 24-29 August 1987. (Vol. II).

  82. ———. 1993. "Materiale Supposition Und Die Erwähnung Von Sprachzeichen." In Neue Realitäten. Herausforderung Der Philosophie. Xvi. Deutscher Kongress Für Philosophie 20.-24. September 1993, Tu Berlin Sektionsbeiträge I, 231-238.

  83. ———. 1994. Die Eigenschaften Der Termini: Eine Untersuchung Zur Perutilis Logica Alberts Von Sachsen, Studien Und Texte Zur Geistesgeschichte Des Mittelalters. Leiden, New York: E. J. Brill.

    With the Latin edition of Perutilis Logica. Tractatus Secundus. De suppositionibus terminorum (pp. 167-265)

  84. Karger, Elizabeth. 1978. "Conséquences Et Inconséquences De La Supposition Vide Dans La Logique D'ockham." Vivarium no. 16:46-55.

  85. ———. 1981. "La Supposition Matérielle Comme Supposition Significative: Paul De Venise, Paul De Pergola." In English Logic and Semantics from the End of the Twelfth Century to the Time of Ockham and Burleigh, edited by Braakhuis, Henk A.G. and Kneepkens, Corneille Henry, 331-341. Nijmegen: Ingenium Publishers.

  86. ———. 1984. "Modes of Personal Supposition. The Purpose and Usefulness of the Doctrine within Ockham's Logic." Franciscan Studies no. 44:87-106.

  87. ———. 1991. "Une Définition De La Supposition Par Guillaume D'ockham Et Sa Reprise Par Albert De Saxe." In Itinéraires D'albert De Saxe, edited by Biard, Joël, 51-69. Paris: Vrin.

  88. ———. 1994. "Théories De La Pensée, De Ses Objects Et De Son Discours Chez Guillaume D'occam." Dialogue.Canadian Philosophical Review no. 33:437-456.

  89. ———. 1996. "Mental Sentences According to Burley and to the Early Ockham." Vivarium no. 34:192-230.

  90. Kaye, Sharon. 1997. "Later Medieval Nominalism and the Politics of Supposition." Eidos.The Canadian Graduate Journal of Philosophy no. 14:29-50.

    "The salient dispute between realists and nominalists of the fourteenth century concerns the metaphysics of supposition. Do general terms stand for extra-mental universals or not? By answering in the affirmative, Walter Burley loses his ability to provide a plausible account of indefinite promises such as "I promise you a horse." By answering in the negative, Ockham not only explains indefinite promises, but also paves the way for a conception of the faith community more revolutionary than Protestantism. In the Bible, Jesus promises his disciples that he will be with them "always, to the end of the age." In Ockham's view, this is an indefinite promise parallel to the case of the horse; it means "I promise you a Christian." According to this analysis, the universal church can survive in a single, unlikely, and even unknown, individual. Ockham thereby undermines the doctrine of papal infallibility as well as institutional religion itself."

  91. Kelley, F.E. 1978. "Some Observations on the Fictum Theory in Ockham and Its Relation to Hervaeus Natalis." Franciscan Studies no. 38:260-282.

  92. Klima, Gyula. 1995. "Existence and Reference in Mediaeval Logic." In New Essays in Free Logic, edited by Morscher, Edgar and Hieke, Alexander, 197-226. Dodrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

  93. ———. 1999. "Semantic Complexity and Syntactic Simplicity in Ockham's Mental Language." In.

  94. ———. 2004. "Tradition and Innovation in Medieval Theories of Mental Representation." Proceedings of the Society for Medieval Logic and Metaphysics no. 4:4-11.

  95. Knabenschuch de Porta, Sabine. 1989. "La Téoria De La Supósicion Y Los Idiomas Modernos." Revista de Filosofia (Venezuela):75-99.

  96. Kneepkens, Corneille Henry. 1987. "Suppositio and Supponere in 12th Century Grammar." In Gilbert De Poitiers Et Ses Contemporains. Aux Origines De La "Logica Modernorun", edited by Jolivet, Jean and Libera, Alain de, 325-351. Napoli: Bibliopolis.

    Actes du septième symposium européeen d'histoire de la logique et de la sémantique médiévales. Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale de Poitiers. Poitiers 17-22 jiun 1985

  97. ———. 1990. "Erfurt, Amol Q 70a: A Questiones-Commentary on the Second Part of Alexander De Villa Dei's Doctrinale." Vivarium:26-54.

    "In this paper it is argued that the Quaestiones-Commentary on Alexander de Villa Dei's Doctrinale in the manuscript Arfurt, Ampl. Q.70a is part of the conceptualist grammatical tradition of the late 14th century. A characteristic feature of this theory is the absolute primacy of mental language to spoken or written language. An edition of the first question has been appended."

  98. Knudsen, Christian. 1975. "Ein Ockhamkritischer Text Zu Signifikation Und Supposition Und Zum Verhältnis Von Erster Und Zweiter Intention." Cahiers de l'Institut du Moyen-Age Grec et Latin no. 14:1-26.

  99. Kraml, Hans. 1999. "Supposition Und Wahrheit." In Entwicklungslinien Mittelalterlicher Philosophie, edited by Leibold, Gerhard and Löffler, Winfried, 222-231. Wien: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky.

    Entwicklungslinien mittelalterlicher Philosophie. Vorträge des V. Kongresses der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Philosophie, Teil II.

  100. Kunze, Peter. 1980. Satzwahrheit Und Sprachliche Verweisung. Walter Burleighs Lehre Von Der Suppositio Termini in Auseinandersetzung Mit Der Mittelalterlichen Tradition Und Der Logik William of Ockham.

    Ph. D. University of Freiburg

  101. Lagerlund, Henrik. 2006. "What Is Singular Thought? Ockham and Buridan on Singular Terms in the Language of Thought." In Mind and Modality. Studies in the History of Philosophy in Honour of Simo Knuuttila, edited by Hirvonen, Vesa, Holopainen, Toivo and Tuomine, Miira, 217-238. Leiden: Brill.

  102. ———, ed. 2007. Representation and Object of Thought in Medieval Philosophy. Aldershot: Ashgate.

  103. Lenz, Martin. 2003. Mentale Sätze. Wilhelm Von Ockhams Thesen Zur Sprachlichkeit Des Denkens. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

  104. ———. 2004. "Oratio Mentalis Und Mentalesisch. Ein Spätmittelalterlicher Blick Auf Die Gegenwärtige Philosophie Des Geistes." In 'Herbst Des Mittelalters'? Fragen Zur Bewertung Des 14. Und 15. Jahrhunderts, edited by Aertsen, Jan A. and Pickavé, Martin, 105-130. New York: De Gruyter.

  105. Libera, Alain de. 1981. "Supposition Naturelle Et Appellation: Aspects De La Sémantique Parisienne Au Xiii Siècle." Histoire, Épistémologie, Langage no. 3 (1):63-77.

  106. ———. 1982. "La Logique Médiévale Et La Théorie De La Supposition." Travaux d'Histoire des Théories Linguistiques no. 1:31-57.

  107. ———. 1987. "Suppositio Et Inclusio Dans Les Théories Médiévales De La Référence." In La Référence. Actes Du Colloque De Saint-Cloud, Ecole Nomale Supérieure De Saint-Cloud, 12-13 Octobre 1984, edited by Danon-Boileau, Laurent and Libera, Alain de, 9-62. Paris: Ophrys.

  108. Loux, Michael J. 1979. "Significatio and Suppositio. Reflections on Ockham's Semantics." New Scholasticism no. 53:407-427.

    "In this paper, I examine Ockham's views on "significatio" and "suppositio" in the light of pre-ockhamistic terminist treatments of these notions. What I try to show is that Ockham's views here are not simply nominalistic variants on traditional terminist themes. While conceding that Ockham's nominalism is central in his theory of terms, i try to locate the "semantical" underpinnings of his views on "significatio" and "suppositio". What I suggest is that Ockham's account deviates from those of his predecessors in taking the notion of standard reference or personal "suppositio" as conceptually prior to the notion of meaning or "significatio", and I conclude that perhaps a rejection of the atomistic semantics of his predecessors motivates this revision of the traditional theory of terms."


Second Part of the Bibliography: M - Z

Medieval Theories of Supposition (Reference) and Mental Language

Semantics and Ontology in the thought of Peter Abelard

Annotated Bibliographies of:

E. J. Ashworth

L. M. de Rijk