Russell L. Friedman

Mental Words and Mental Language in the Later Middle Ages

It is now a well known and increasingly well studied episode in medieval philosophy of mind that William of Ockham in the first quarter of the fourteenth century developed a genuine theory of mental language, in which the mind builds up mental propositions out of component concepts. Although one can find hints of the idea of mental speech, as distinct from spoken or written speech, already in Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics, nevertheless for the later scholastic discussion, it was Augustine’s treatment of the verbum cordis in especially book fifteen of his De trinitate that set the agenda.

Reading Aristotle at the University of Louvain in the Fifteenth Century: A First Survey of Petrus de Rivo’s Commentaries on Aristotle (I)

The Aristotelian commentaries by Petrus de Rivo (†1499/1500), still unedited, represent a valuable instrument for our understanding of the major trends in the teaching of Aristotle at the fifteenth-century Faculty of Arts at Louvain. We published a preliminary survey of the manuscript material in last year’s issue of this journal, together with an account of the status quaestionis concerning Peter’s biography, works and the historical context of his thought. In the present article, we consider more closely a selection of his commentaries on logic and natural philosophy. First, we offer an overview of Peter’s division of the sciences as expressed in his tractatus prohemiales, particularly those introducing his commentaries on Porphyry’s Isagoge and Aristotle’s Physics. Next, we considers Peter’s explanation of De interpretatione chapter 9, and his exposition of specific parts of Aristotle’s Physics and De anima.

John Duns Scotus

This book presents an overview of the later medieval trinitarian theology of the rival Franciscan and Dominican intellectual traditions, and includes detailed studies of thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, Henry of Ghent, John Duns Scotus, William Ockham, and Gregory of Rimini.

Emerging Trinitarian Traditions I: Franciscans, ca. 1255-1280

This book presents an overview of the later medieval trinitarian theology of the rival Franciscan and Dominican intellectual traditions, and includes detailed studies of thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, Henry of Ghent, John Duns Scotus, William Ockham, and Gregory of Rimini.

Matthew Of Aquasparta And The Greeks

This chapter clarifies the relative dating of Matthews written Sentences commentary, Quodlibet II, and the treatise on the procession of the Holy Spirit, with reference to Lyons II. It discerns clear Dominican and Franciscan positions on the Filioque controversy, with the Franciscans less antagonistic to the Greeks. The chapter shows that the Franciscans were more sympathetic to the Greeks in general, both in their actions and in their thought. Does this hold true for Matthew of Aquasparta, and on the issue of unleavened bread? Finally, since Matthews treatise on the procession of the Holy Spirit has long attracted the attention of scholars interested in Greek-Latin relations, the chapter provides a more complete picture of this important thinkers opinion on this topic. Keywords: Aquasparta; Dominican; Filioque ; Franciscan; Greeks; Holy Spirit; Matthew; Quodlibet

Landulph Caracciolo on Intentions and Intentionality

This article presents a critical edition from the six surviving witnesses of Landulph Caracciolo’s (d. 1351), Scriptum in I Sententiarum, d. 23, a text that has never appeared in print before. A short introduction begins to set Landulph’s treatment of intentions and intentionality in this text into its historical, philosophical, and theological context, in particular linking it to the positions of John Duns Scotus and Peter Auriol.