The notion that human thought is structured like a language, with a precise syntax and semantics, has been pivotal in recent philosophy of mind. Yet it is not a new idea: it was systematically explored in the fourteenth century by William of Ockham and became central in late medieval philosophy. Mental Language examines the background of Ockham's innovation by tracing the history of the mental language theme in ancient and medieval thought.
Panaccio identifies two important traditions: one philosophical, stemming from Plato and Aristotle, and the other theological, rooted in the Fathers of the Christian Church. The study then focuses on the merging of the two traditions in the Middle Ages, as they gave rise to detailed discussions over the structure of human thought and its relations with signs and language. Ultimately, Panaccio stresses the originality and significance of Ockham's doctrine of the oratio mentalis (mental discourse) and the strong impression it made upon his immediate successors.
- Cover
- Half-title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Editorial Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction
- PART I: THE SOURCES
- 1. Plato and Aristotle
- The soul’s dialogue with itself
- The locus of logical relations
- The composition of thought
- 2. Logos endiathetos
- A Stoic notion?
- Philo and allegorical exegesis
- From Plutarch to Plotinus
- John Damascene and his sources
- 3. Verbum in corde
- The battle against Gnosis
- The emergence of Latin theology
- Augustine: The development of a doctrine
- 4. Oratio mentalis
- The case of Porphyry
- The testimony of Ammonius
- The commentaries of Boethius
- The passage through Islam
- PART II: THIRTEENTH-CENTURY CONTROVERSIES
- 5. Triple Is the Word
- Anselm’s Augustinianism
- The play of triads
- Sermo in mente
- 6. Act versus Idol
- The Thomistic synthesis
- The first criticisms
- Back to the things themselves
- 7. Concept and Sign
- Signs in the intellect
- John Duns Scotus and the question of the significate
- The language of angels
- 8. What Is Logic About?
- Logic, composition, and truth
- Deep structure and logical form
- The subject of the Perihermeneias
- The elements of syllogism
- PART III: THE VIA MODERNA
- 9. Ockham’s Intervention
- The object of knowledge
- The ontology of the intelligible
- The semantics of concepts
- Natural signification
- 10. Reactions
- The nature of mental language
- The structure of mental language
- Parisian nominalism
- Conclusion
- Postscript to the English-Language Edition (2014)
- On the ancient and patristic sources
- On Augustine and Boethius
- On Abelard and the twelfth century
- On Aquinas and the thirteenth century
- On Ockham and the late medieval period
- Bibliography
- Index of Names
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