Mental Language: From Plato To William Of Ockham Discours Intérieur. English Project Muse Upcc Books

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. This book examines the background of Ockham's innovation by tracing the history of the mental language theme in ancient and medieval thought. It shows the various contexts in which the idea was developed, the different uses it was put to, and the networks through which it was transmitted. Two ancient traditions are identified as relevant: one philosophical, stemming from Plato and Aristotle, which led to the emergence of a technical notion of ‘internal discourse’ in later Greek philosophy; and the other theological, rooted in the Fathers of the Christian Church and reaching its apogee in Augustine in the fifth century A.D. 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. And it finally 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. Machine Generated Contents Note: Pt. 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 -- Pt. 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 -- Pt. 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. Claude Panaccio ; Translated By Joshua P. Hochschild And Meredith K. Ziebart. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 259-275) And Index. Translated From The French. 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 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z 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. --Publisher description This book offers a history of the idea that human thought is structured like a language, from Plato and Aristotle up to the fourteenth century when William of Ockham gave it a new importance and developed it in a systematic way.