Realism
Realism is a philosophical position that attributes extramental existence to certain kinds of entities, for example, universals, categories, relations, or propositions.
- PDF / 645,376 Bytes
- 72 Pages / 547.087 x 737.008 pts Page_size
- 10 Downloads / 232 Views
Abstract Radulphus Brito (c. 1270–c. 1320) was a famous arts master in Paris, and is considered to be the most important proponent of a particular position in semantics, whose adherents are now called Modistae. He is best known, in his own times and ours, for his views on the semantic and ontological status of second intentions. Brito distinguishes these intentions in first and second as well as in abstract and concrete, and locates the resulting fourfold division in each of the three operations of the intellect (concept formation, judgment, and reasoning). He defended the uncommon thesis that at least some of the second intentions can be located in the Aristotelian categories, because they are caused by the external things themselves rather than by the intellect reflecting upon its acquired first intentions.
Lemma Radulphus Brito (also called Raoul le Breton or Raoul Renaud), was a famous master of arts, born c. 1270 in the northwest of Brittany in the town of Ploudiry, which lies in the diocese of St-Pol-de-Le´on. In the past, Brito has often been identified with the Parisian master of theology Radulphus de Hotot, but this conflation has now convincingly been proven to be mistaken. Brito studied at the faculty of arts in Paris and became a master of arts there no later than 1296. He began studying theology, also at Paris and probably around 1299, while continuing to teach in the arts faculty. Brito read Peter Lombard’s Sententiae, in the academic year 1308– 1309 (at least book II and III) and his inception as a master of theology most likely took place in 1314 (although 1311/12 has also been suggested). Brito also held an
administrative post at the university; he became the provisor – the administrative head – of the Sorbonne somewhere between 1312 and 1315 and held this post until at least 1319. He died c. 1320. Brito commented extensively on Aristotle, but, unfortunately, most of his works remain either unedited or merely partially edited. Although he wrote commentaries on natural philosophy (Physics, On the Soul, Meteorology), on the first two books of the Metaphysics, and on the Ethics, the bulk of his commentaries concern logic and grammar: on the Ars vetus (Isagoge, Categories, and On Interpretation), including Boethius’ De differentiis topicis (On Topical Differences) and the anonymous De sex principiis (On Six Principles), as well as on the Prior and Posterior Analytics, the Topics, and the Sophistical Refutations. He also wrote a large commentary on Priscianus Minor en left a collection of mathematical works called Super parva mathematicalia. Probably best known now are his Sophismata. In theology Brito seems to have written far less; all we have are his commentary on Peter Lombard’s Sententiae I-III, a Quodlibet, and his so-called Quaestiones in vesperiis (Evening Questions). Brito’s logical works in particular were very influential, and they remained so, at least in Italy, well into the fifteenth century. For example, Gennadius Scholarios’ commentary on the Ars vetus, composed c. 1432–1435, is for a
Data Loading...
