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Introduction to Medieval Logic
The first book devoted to a systematic investigation of the logic of the high Middle Ages, this work demonstrates the magnitude of the achievement of medieval logicians. Broadie focuses on the work of some of the great figures of the 14th century, including Walter Burley, William Ockham, John
Buridan, Albert of Saxony, and Paul of Venice, and analyzes their theories of truth conditions and valid conditions. Among the topics considered are the medieval exposition of the quantifier shift fallacy, and the rules of valid inference devised to deal with arguments whose premises are not all
present-tensed. Revealing how much of what seems characteristically 20th-century logic was actually familiar long ago, Broadie here demonstrates how medieval logic may yet contribute to the solution of 20th-century problems.
Buridan, Albert of Saxony, and Paul of Venice, and analyzes their theories of truth conditions and valid conditions. Among the topics considered are the medieval exposition of the quantifier shift fallacy, and the rules of valid inference devised to deal with arguments whose premises are not all
present-tensed. Revealing how much of what seems characteristically 20th-century logic was actually familiar long ago, Broadie here demonstrates how medieval logic may yet contribute to the solution of 20th-century problems.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published April 9, 1987
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January 29, 2017
The title is perhaps somewhat misleading. I would expect that a book introducing medieval logic should be fairly easy to follow for someone like myself, with a doctorate in modern mathematical logic and an interest in medieval philosophy. But the first few chapters assume a fair amount of prior understanding of the form of logic used in the middle ages, i.e. one based on natural language rather than symbolic representation of carefully pre-defined and abstract ideas of such ideas as truth, implication, proof and so on (this, the basis of modern mathematical logic, being the legacy of Frege and others such as Russell, Tarsky, and Gödel).
In fact, what is eventually revealed is a way to relate the arguments of medieval logicians, which can seem weird and monumentally pedantic, to a process which moves from the potential ambiguities of natural language towards more abstract understanding of the processes of logic. No matter how interesting that might be to me, though, the path travelled through mainly fourteenth century logical arguments is one I found hard to follow. For me, the best part of the book is the concluding chapter, in which Broadie discusses the transition from scholastic logical thought to humanistic ideas of proof, more based on rhetoric and Ciceronian legal arguments, and the relation of scholasticism to the ideas of modern mathematics.
I would have welcomed a lot more historical context, and also some way to connect the thematically organised discussion to that context.
In fact, what is eventually revealed is a way to relate the arguments of medieval logicians, which can seem weird and monumentally pedantic, to a process which moves from the potential ambiguities of natural language towards more abstract understanding of the processes of logic. No matter how interesting that might be to me, though, the path travelled through mainly fourteenth century logical arguments is one I found hard to follow. For me, the best part of the book is the concluding chapter, in which Broadie discusses the transition from scholastic logical thought to humanistic ideas of proof, more based on rhetoric and Ciceronian legal arguments, and the relation of scholasticism to the ideas of modern mathematics.
I would have welcomed a lot more historical context, and also some way to connect the thematically organised discussion to that context.
Displaying 1 of 1 review