The problem of universals from Boethius to John of Salisbury / / by Robert Pinzani

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910808231203321
• Autore: Pinzani Roberto
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Leiden : , : Brill.; c2018
• ISBN: 90-04-37115-X
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (318 pages)
• Collana: Brill's studies in intellectual history ; ; v. 22
• Disciplina: 111.2
• Soggetti: Universals (Philosophy)
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front Matter -- Copyright page -- Introduction -- The Problem -- Boethius on General Terms -- The Metaphysical System of Scotus Eriugena -- Realist Theories in the 11th-12th Centuries -- The 'Nominal' Stance: Garland the Computist and Abelard's Literal Glosses1 -- Walter of Mortagne and the Identity Theory -- The De Generibus et Speciebus and the Theory of Collectio -- The Position of Abelard on Porphyry -- Gilbert of Poitiers -- John of Salisbury on Universals -- Back Matter -- Bibliography -- Index.
• Sommario/riassunto: The problem of universals is one of the main philosophical issues. In this book the author reconstructs the history of the problem considering a selection of medieval representative texts and authors. The source of medieval and postmedieval debate is identified in the Socratic-Platonic survey on the definition of concepts. In the Categories , Aristotle discusses important topics concerning the relations that exist between logical terms. In particular he establishes a kind of predication principle: categorial terms have a certain predication relation if (and only if) some facts expressed by ordinary sentences hold. The Categories also because of their particular disciplinary status, halfway between logic and metaphysics, leave a number of questions open. Among these questions, a particularly intriguing one is Porphyry's riddle: are there genera and species? And, if there are such things, what are they like?