Modes, Terms and Propositions: Continental Versus British Traditions in Medieval Logic

This volume is devoted to the topic of the Oxford-Paris split, which has been discussed in the history of medieval logic since the 1980s, and attempts to reassess this dichotomy in the light of recent research findings. Originally, it was assumed that Oxford primarily developed the terminist approach that focuses on propositions and their parts, while Paris developed the modist logic within the tradition of speculative grammar. Recent research shows, however, that the actual situation was far more complex. The contributions in this volume replace the Oxford-Paris dichotomy by a widened perspective on a number of British and continental logical developments, and examine various facets of their interrelationship, including the role of syncategorematic words, the signification of vocal sounds and of letters, the theory of concrete accidental terms, and sophismatic peculiarities.