PRE-Pre-Cartesian Linguistics
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Antoine De Chandieu (1534-1591): One of the Fathers Of
CALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ANTOINE DE CHANDIEU (1534-1591): ONE OF THE FATHERS OF REFORMED SCHOLASTICISM? A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF CALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY THEODORE GERARD VAN RAALTE GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN MAY 2013 CALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 3233 Burton SE • Grand Rapids, Michigan • 49546-4301 800388-6034 fax: 616 957-8621 [email protected] www. calvinseminary. edu. This dissertation entitled ANTOINE DE CHANDIEU (1534-1591): L'UN DES PERES DE LA SCHOLASTIQUE REFORMEE? written by THEODORE GERARD VAN RAALTE and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has been accepted by the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary upon the recommendation of the undersigned readers: Richard A. Muller, Ph.D. I Date ~ 4 ,,?tJ/3 Dean of Academic Programs Copyright © 2013 by Theodore G. (Ted) Van Raalte All rights reserved For Christine CONTENTS Preface .................................................................................................................. viii Abstract ................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1 Introduction: Historiography and Scholastic Method Introduction .............................................................................................................1 State of Research on Chandieu ...............................................................................6 Published Research on Chandieu’s Contemporary -
Robert Holcot, O-P-, on Prophecy, the Contingency of Revelation, and the Freedom of God JOSEPH M
Robert Holcot, O-P-, on Prophecy, the Contingency of Revelation, and the Freedom of God JOSEPH M. INCANDELA In a recent work, William Courtenay refers to the issues in Holcot's writings under discussion in this essay as "theological sophismata."1 That they are. But it is the burden of this essay to suggest that they are more: Holcot's interest in these questions had a funda- mentally practical import, and such seemingly esoteric philosophical and theological speculation was in the service of a pastoral program geared to preaching the faith to unbelievers. For someone in a religious order charged with this mission, questions that may initially appear only as sophismata may actually perform quite different functions when examined in context. Robert Holcot was best known in his own time as a comment tator on the Book of Wisdom. Wey writes that this work "made its author famous overnight and his fame held throughout the next two centuries."2 Wey also proposes that it was because of the rep- utation won with the Wisdom-commentary that Holcot's Sentences- commentary and some quodlibet questions were printed four times 1. William]. Courtenay, Schools and Scholars in Fourteenth Century England (Prince- ton: Princeton University Press, 1987), p. 303. 2. Joseph C. Wey, "The Sermo Finalis of Robert Holcot," Medieval Studies 11 (1949): 219-224, at p. 219. 165 166 JOSEPH M. INCANDELA between 1497 and 1518. His thought was also deemed important enough to be discussed and compared with that of Scotus and Ockham in a work by Jacques Almain printed in 1526. -
A Naturalist Reconstruction of Minimalist and Evolutionary Biolinguistics
A Naturalist Reconstruction of Minimalist and Evolutionary Biolinguistics Hiroki Narita & Koji Fujita Kinsella & Marcus (2009; K&M) argue that considerations of biological evo- lution invalidate the picture of optimal language design put forward under the rubric of the minimalist program (Chomsky 1993 et seq.), but in this article it will be pointed out that K&M’s objection is undermined by (i) their misunderstanding of minimalism as imposing an aprioristic presumption of optimality and (ii) their failure to discuss the third factor of language design. It is proposed that the essence of K&M’s suggestion be reconstructed as the sound warning that one should refrain from any preconceptions about the object of inquiry, to which K&M commit themselves based on their biased view of evolution. A different reflection will be cast on the current minima- list literature, arguably along the lines K&M envisaged but never completed, converging on a recommendation of methodological (and, in a somewhat unconventional sense, metaphysical) naturalism. Keywords: evolutionary/biological adequacy; language evolution; metho- dological/metaphysical naturalism; minimalist program; third factor of language design 1. Introduction A normal human infant can learn any natural language(s) he or she is exposed to, whereas none of their pets (kittens, dogs, etc.) can, even given exactly the same data from the surrounding speech community. There must be something special, then, to the genetic endowment of human beings that is responsible for the emer- gence of this remarkable linguistic capacity. Human language is thus a biological object that somehow managed to come into existence in the evolution of the hu- man species. -
The Role of Affect in Language Development∗
The Role of Affect in Language Development∗ Stuart G. SHANKER and Stanley I. GREENSPAN BIBLID [0495-4548 (2005) 20: 54; pp. 329-343] ABSTRACT: This paper presents the Functional/Emotional approach to language development, which explains the process leading up to the core capacities necessary for language (e.g., pattern-recognition, joint attention); shows how this process leads to the formation of internal symbols; and how it shapes and is shaped by the child’s development of language. The heart of this approach is that, through a series of affective transfor- mations, a child develops these core capacities and the capacity to form meaningful symbols. Far from be- ing a sudden jump, the transition from pre-symbolic communication to language is enabled by the advances taking place in the child’s affective gesturing. Key words: Functional/Emotional hypothesis; affective transformations; usage-based linguistics; pattern-recognition; joint attention; learning-based interactions; nativism; autism 1. The F/E View of Language Development Chomsky began Cartesian Linguistics with the following quotation from Whitehead’s Science and the Modern World: A brief, and sufficiently accurate, description of the intellectual life of the European races during the succeeding two centuries and a quarter up to our own times is that they have been living upon the accumulated capital of ideas provided for them by the genius of the seventeenth cen- tury (Chomsky 1967). Chomsky was certainly right: both in regards to the accuracy of Whitehead’s ob- servation, and in regards to the significance of this outlook for Chomsky’s whole ap- proach to language acquisition. -
PAULUS NICOLETTUS VENETUS, Sophismata Aurea
PAULUS NICOLETTUS VENETUS, Sophismata aurea [Golden Sophisms] In Latin, decorated manuscript on paper Northern Italy, Reggio d’Emilia (Ferrara?) or Padua?, dated 1417 65 ff., complete (collation: i-iii12, iv-v10, vi9 [10-1, with last leaf of quire likely a cancelled blank]), on paper (a number of watermarks, respectively close to (1) Briquet, no. 2637-2638: “Basilic” (e.g. f. 7), Reggio-d’Emilia, 1404, Ferrara, 1406, Udine, 1402-1408; see also Briquet no. 2663: Ferrara, 1417; (2) Briquet, no. 809: “Arc” (e.g. f. 27), Siena, 1410: Lucca, 1423 [but also Cologne, 1419]; (3) Briquet, no. 11687:“Monts” (e. g. f. 57), Padova, 1408-1415 or Briquet, no. 11689, Florence, 1411-1421 or Pisa, 1416), written in a tight and highly abridged gothic bookhand by a single hand (except table of contents on f. 65v, by a different although contemporary hand), text in two columns, quire signatures, a few catchwords (e.g. fol. 24v), paper ruled in brown ink (justification 186 x 140 mm.), paragraph marks in red, some capitals struck in red, painted initials in red or blue throughout, some larger parti-colored initials in red and blue, a variety of contemporary or slightly later marginal annotations and corrections (worthy of in-depth study). Bound in uncovered pasteboard, spine reinforced with snippets of inscribed parchment, spine sewn on three raised thongs left apparent, covers and spine meant to subsequently receive a leather covering (unfinished), pastedowns lined with reused paper copied in a cursive bâtarde script in brown ink, containing excerpts from Italian notarial documents pertaining to the town of Novalino (?) (another form for Nodano, near Brescia?) and the monastery of San Pietro de Novalino and dated 1504 (Some foxing, a few waterstains, mostly marginal, first paper leaf darkened, perhaps due to past exposure, still completely legible). -
Preprint N°500
2020 Preprint N°500 From Hesiod to Saussure, from Hippocrates to Jevons: An Introduction to the History of Scientific Thought between Iran and the Atlantic Jens Høyrup ROSKILDE UNIVERSITY MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR Section for philosophy WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE and science studies Berlin FROM HESIOD TO SAUSSURE, FROM HIPPOCRATES TO JEVONS An introduction to the history of scientific thought between Iran and the Atlantic Jens Høyrup Preprint, April 2020 ©2020 Jens Høyrup In memory of Alex Novikoff whose Climbing Our Family Tree introduced me to scientific thinking at the age of six I promise nothing complete; because any human thing supposed to be complete, must for that reason infallibly be faulty Herman Melville, Moby Dick Jens Høyrup Section for Philosophy and Science Studies Roskilde University P.O. Box 260 DK-4000 Roskilde Denmark [email protected] http://ruc.dk/~jensh/ Greek alphabet V GREEK ALPHABET As a pretext for training the use of a dictionary of ancient Greek, the following pages contain a few words written in Greek letters. The four columns below show the corresponding alphabet – first the Greek minuscule, then the corresponding majuscule, then the name, and finally the approximate phonetic value (which does not always coincide with the phonetic value in modern Greek). αΑalpha a βΒBeta b γΓGamma g ( before γ, κ and χ; γγ thus as ng in English anger, γκ as nk in ink) δΔDelta d εΕEpsilon e (short) ζΖZeta z (i.e., voiced s) ηΗEta e¯ (long) θΘTheta þ (unvoiced th; originally t’) ιΙIota i (as i in English if or e in be, may thus be short or long) κΚKappa k λΛLambda l µΜMu m νΝNu n ξΞKsi ks οΟOmikron o (short) πΠPi p ρΡRho r (transcribed rh in initial posi- tion) σΣSigma s ςΣSigma s (used in final position) τΤTau t υΥYpsilon y (as German ü) φΦPhi f (originally p’) χΧKhi χ (as ch in German Ich; orig- inally k’) ψΨPsi ps ωΩOmega o¯ (long) The following double vowels may be taken note of: VI Greek alphabet αυ au ευ eu ου u (as English oo) Vowels in the initial position are marked by one of the two aspiration marks and . -
Medieval Philosophy: an Historical and Philosophical Introduction
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY ‘Dr Marenbon’s book is an authoritative, comprehensive, yet accessible survey of medieval philosophy, written by an expert at the height of his critical powers. Not only does the book guide the reader through the diverse issues of medieval philosophy, but provides sagacious instruction and illuminating commentary on the central topics of its chosen period of study.’ Martin Stone, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. ‘Marenbon has managed to write about an enormous array of topics in a lucid and accessible way. His prose is clear without being condescending, informative without being either patronizing or importunate. The beginner will find it approachable and unpretentious.’ Peter King, University of Toronto, Canada This new introduction replaces Marenbon’s best-selling editions Early Medieval Philosophy (1983) and Later Medieval Philosophy (1987) to present a single author- itative and comprehensive study of the period. An entirely new book, written in the light of the scholarship of the last twenty years, it will be the standard companion for all students of medieval philosophy. It gives a lucid and engaging account of the history of philosophy in the Middle Ages, discussing the main writers and ideas, the social and intellectual contexts, and the important concepts used in medieval philosophy. Medieval Philosophy gives a chronological account which: • treats all four main traditions of philosophy that stem from the Greek heritage of late antiquity: Greek Christian philosophy, Latin philosophy, Arabic philos- ophy and Jewish philosophy • provides a series of ‘study’ sections for close attention to arguments and shorter ‘interludes’ that point to the wider questions of the intellectual context • combines philosophical analysis with historical background • includes a helpful detailed guide to further reading and an extensive bibliography All students of medieval philosophy, medieval history, theology or religion will find this necessary reading. -
Truth and Truthmaking in 17Th-Century Scholasticism
Truth and Truthmaking in 17th-Century Scholasticism by Brian Embry A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy University of Toronto © Copyright by Brian Embry 2015 Truth and Truthmaking in 17th-Century Scholasticism Brian Embry Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy University of Toronto 2015 Abstract Some propositions are true and others are false. What explains this difference? Some philosophers have recently defended the view that a proposition is true because there is an entity, its truthmaker, that makes it true. Call this the ‘truthmaker principle’. The truthmaker principle is controversial, occasioning the rise of a large contemporary debate about the nature of truthmaking and truthmakers. What has gone largely unnoticed is that scholastics of the early modern period also had the notion of a truthmaker [verificativum], and this notion is at the center of early modern scholastic disputes about the ontological status of negative entities, the past and future, and uninstantiated essences. My project is to explain how early modern scholastics conceive of truthmaking and to show how they use the notion of a truthmaker to regiment ontological enquiry. I argue that the notion of a truthmaker is born of a certain conception of truth according to which truth is a mereological sum of a true mental sentence and its intentional object. This view entails the truthmaker principle and is responsible for some surprising metaphysical views. For example, it leads many early modern scholastics to posit irreducible negative entities as truthmakers for negative truths, giving rise to an extensive literature on the nature of negative entities. -
Jean Buridan's Theory of Individuation
c Peter King, in Individuation and Scholasticism (SUNY 1994), 397–430 BURIDAN’S THEORY OF INDIVIDUATION* 1. Introduction URIDAN holds that no principle or cause accounts for the individuality of the individual, or at least no principle or B cause other than the very individual itself, and thus there is no ‘metaphysical’ problem of individuation at all—individuality, unlike gen- erality, is primitive and needs no explanation. He supports this view in two ways. First, he argues that there are no nonindividual entities, whether existing in their own right or as metaphysical constituents either of things or in things, and hence that no real principle or cause of individuality (other than the individual itself) is required. Second, he offers a ‘semantic’ inter- pretation of what appear to be metaphysical difficulties about individuality by recasting the issues in the formal mode, as issues within semantics, such as how a referring expression can pick out a single individual. Yet although there is no ‘metaphysical’ problem of individuation, Buridan discusses two associated problems at some length: the identity of individuals over time and the discernibility of individuals. The discussion will proceed as follows. In §2, Buridan’s semantic frame- work, the idiom in which he couches his philosophical analyses, will be * References to Buridan are taken from a variety of his works (with abbreviations listed): Questions on Aristotle’s “Categories” (QC); Questions on Aristotle’s “Physics” (QSP); Questions on Aristotle’s “De caelo et mundo” (QCM); Questions on Aristotle’s “De anima” (QA); Questions on Aristotle’s “Metaphysics” (QM); Treatise on Supposi- tion (TS); Sophismata; Treatise on Consequences (TC). -
New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More Information
Cambridge University Press 0521651476 - New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More information New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind This book is an outstanding contribution to the philosophical study of language and mind, by one of the most influential thinkers of our time. In a series of penetrating essays, Noam Chomsky cuts through the confusion and prejudice which has infected the study of language and mind, bringing new solutions to traditional philosophical puzzles and fresh perspectives on issues of general interest, ranging from the mind–body problem to the unification of science. Using a range of imaginative and deceptively simple linguistic ana- lyses, Chomsky argues that there is no coherent notion of “language” external to the human mind, and that the study of language should take as its focus the mental construct which constitutes our knowledge of language. Human language is therefore a psychological, ultimately a “biological object,” and should be analysed using the methodology of the natural sciences. His examples and analyses come together in this book to give a unique and compelling perspective on language and the mind. is Institute Professor at the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Chomsky has written and lectured extensively on a wide range of topics, including linguistics, philosophy, and intellectual history. His main works on linguistics include: Syntactic Structures; Current Issues in Linguistic Theory; Aspects of the Theory of Syntax; Cartesian Linguistics; Sound Pattern of English (with Morris Halle); Language and Mind; Reflections on Language; The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory; Lec- tures on Government and Binding; Modular Approaches to the Study of the Mind; Knowledge of Language: its Nature, Origins and Use; Language and Problems of Knowledge; Generative Grammar: its Basis, Development and Prospects; Language in a Psychological Setting; Language and Prob- lems of Knowledge; and The Minimalist Program. -
CHOMSKY, Noam Avram (1928- ) Forthcoming in the Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers, 1860-1960 Ed., Ernest Lepore, Thoemmes Press, 2004
CHOMSKY, Noam Avram (1928- ) Forthcoming in the Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers, 1860-1960 ed., Ernest LePore, Thoemmes Press, 2004. Noam Chomsky was born to Dr. William (Zev) Chomsky and Elsie Simonofsky in Philadelphia on December 7, 1928. His father emigrated to the United States from Russia. William was an eminent scholar, author of the study Hebrew, the Eternal Language (1957), as well as numerous other works on the history and teaching of Hebrew. Noam entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1945. There he came in contact with Zelig Harris, a prominent linguist and the founder of the first linguistics department in the United States (at the University of Pennsylvania). In 1947 Chomsky decided to major in linguistics, and in 1949 he began his graduate studies in that field. His BA honor’s thesis Morphophonemics of Modern Hebrew (1949, revised as an MA thesis in 1951) contains several ideas that foreshadow Chomsky’s later work in generative grammar. In 1949 he married the linguist Carol Schatz. During the years 1951 to 1955 Chomsky was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard University Society of Fellows, where he completed his PhD dissertation entitled Transformational Analysis (1955; published as part of The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory in 1975). Chomsky received a faculty position at MIT in 1955 and he has been teaching there ever since. In 1961 he was appointed full professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics; the graduate program in linguistics began the same year. In 1966 he was appointed Ferrari Ward Professor of Linguistics. In 1976, the linguistics and philosophy programs at MIT were merged and the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy was created; this has been Chomsky’s home department ever since. -
History of Medieval Philosophy
Syllabus 1 HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY TIME: TTh 5:00-6:15 INSTRUCTOR: Stephen D. Dumont CONTACT: Malloy 301 /1-3757/ [email protected] OFFICE HOURS: By appointment. · REQUIRED TEXTS (Note edition) Hyman- Arthur Hyman and James J. Walsh, Philosophy in the Middle Ages 2nd ed. Walsh (Hackett , 1983) Spade Paul V. Spade, Five Texts on Mediaeval Problem of Universals (Hackett, 1994) Wolter Allan B. Wolter, Duns Scotus Philosophical Writings (Hackett, 1987) · RECOMMENDED TEXT McGrade Steven A. McGrade, Cambridge Companion to Medieval Philosophy (Cam- bridge, 2003) · COURSE REQUIREMENTS Undergraduate Graduate 25% = Midterm (Take-home) 50% = Research Term paper (20 pages) 25% = Term Paper (10 pages) 50% = Final (Take-home) 50% = Take Home Final · SYLLABUS: [Note: The following syllabus is ambitious and may be modified as we progress through the course. Many readings will be supplied or on deposit for you to copy.] EARLY MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY · BOETHIUS 1. Universals: Second Commentary on the Isagoge of Porphyry (In Isagogen Porphyrii commenta) [Handout from Richard McKeon, Selections from Medieval Philosophers. (New York, 1930), 1:70-99; cf. Spade, 20-25] 2. Divine Foreknowledge and Future Contingents: Consolation of Philosophy V [Handout from John F Wippel and Allan B. Wolter. Medieval Philosophy: From St. Augustine to Nicholas of Cusa, Readings in the History of Philosophy. (New York: Free Press), 1969, pp. 84-99] · ANSELM 1. Existence of God: Proslogion 1-4; On Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilo; Reply to the Fool. [Hyman-Walsh, 149-62] Syllabus 2 · ABELARD, 1. Universals: Glosses on Porphyry in Logic for Beginners (Logica ingredientibus) [Spade, 26-56; cf.