InsolubiliaThe fourteenth-century thinker Thomas Bradwardine is well known in both the history of science and the history of theology. The first of the Merton Calculators (mathematical physicists) and passionate defender of the Augustinian doctrine of salvation through grace alone, he was briefly archbishop of Canterbury before succumbing to the Black Death in 1349. This new edition of his Insolubilia, made from all thirteen known manuscripts, shows that he was also a logician of the first rank. The edition is accompanied by a full English translation. In the treatise, Bradwardine considers and rejects the theories of his contemporaries about the logical puzzles known as "insolubles," and sets out his own solution at length and in detail. In a substantial introduction, Stephen Read describes Bradwardine's analysis, compares it with other more recent theories, and places it in its historical context. The text is accompanied by three appendices, the first of which is an extra chapter found in two manuscripts (and partly in a third) that appears to contain further thoughts by Bradwardine himself. The second contains an extract from Ralph Strode's Insolubilia, composed in the 1360s, repeating and enlarging on Bradwardine's text; and the third consists of an anonymous text that applies Bradwardine's solution to a succession of different insolubles. |
Common terms and phrases
aliqua propositio aliquod aliud antecedens apprehended by Socrates Aristotle autem Bradwardine chapter concedatur conceded conclusion consequens consequentia contravalence denied Dicendum quod dicere dicitur a Sorte disjunction enim ergo per secundam ergo Sortes est falsum est verum falsa false falsehood is uttered falsum dicitur falsum et follows Ideo igitur illud inference Insolubilia insolubles istam Liar Paradox Medieval minor premise neganda negandum nomen omne paradox patet Plato ponatur potest predicate predicato premise preter primo primum prius pro se proponatur propositio tibi proposita proposition signifies quam quelibet quia quid et simpliciter quod Sortes quodlibet scilicet scitum secundam suppositionem secundum quid sicut significat quod Socrates is deceived Socrates utters solum sophism Sophismata sophist sophisticus Sortem Sortes decipitur Sortes dicit falsum subiectum sunt suppose suppositio supposits suppositum talis tantum thesis Thomas Bradwardine true truth tunc University of Dallas unknown to Socrates uttered by Socrates utters a falsehood veram