Medieval logic

Medieval logic was the study and development of logical theories and techniques in Europe from late antiquity through the Renaissance. It expanded Aristotelian logic with theories of propositions, inference, and linguistic reference.

Aristotelian logic: A system of reasoning centered on syllogisms, categories, and the analysis of demonstration developed from Aristotle’s works. Medieval logicians inherited its syllogistic framework while extending it beyond Aristotle’s own treatments.
Supposition theory: A medieval theory explaining how a term stands for things in a proposition. It analyzed how a term’s reference changes with its grammatical and propositional context.
Peter Abelard: A twelfth-century French philosopher and theologian known for dialectical works and analyses of language and logic. His Dialectica and treatments of propositions helped renew logical study before the universities matured.
Stoic logic: An ancient Greek logical tradition that emphasized propositions and inference patterns rather than Aristotle’s terms and syllogisms. Its propositional techniques differed from the Aristotelian framework that dominated medieval Latin curricula.
Organon: The traditional collection of Aristotle’s logical works, including the Categories, Prior Analytics, and On Interpretation. Its translated texts formed the core curriculum for medieval study of logic.
Obligationes: A medieval disputation form in which one participant accepts an initial proposition and answers successive challenges under fixed rules. Its rules tested whether participants could preserve consistency through a structured sequence of arguments.
William of Sherwood: A thirteenth-century English logician whose Introduction to Logic became a widely used textbook. His account of terms and supposition presents a concise form of mature scholastic logic.
Megarian logic: An ancient Greek tradition of dialectical argument associated with Eubulides and other philosophers of Megara. Its paradoxes and arguments offer ancient parallels to puzzles later examined by medieval logicians.
Boethius: A late Roman philosopher who translated and commented on logical works by Aristotle and Porphyry. His translations and commentaries transmitted foundational logical texts to medieval Latin scholars.
Insolubilia: Medieval logical puzzles, especially self-referential paradoxes such as the liar sentence. These puzzles pressed medieval theories to explain truth, falsity, and self-reference.

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