Handbook of the History of Logic: - Fordham University Faculty

The Assimilation of Aristotelian and Arabic Logic up to the Later Thirteenth Century 337
exists’. In that case ‘human being’ stands for presently existing humans. 93
Accidental supposition is divided into simple and personal supposition. A common
term has simple supposition when it stands for a universal, like in ‘human
being is a species’. Personal supposition is the acceptance of a common term for
its inferiors. It is divided into determinate and confused supposition. A common
term has determinate supposition if it is taken indefinitely or with a particular
sign; as for example in ‘a human being runs’ or’ Some human being is running’.
Confused supposition is the acceptance of a common term for several things by
means of a universal sign. In ‘Every human being is running’, ‘human being’ has
confused supposition.
Peter, and William in more familiar terms, makes a further division of confused
supposition. There is confused supposition by the necessity of the mode or sign
(“necessitate signi vel modi”) and confused supposition by necessity of the thing
(“necessitate rei”). In ‘Every human being is an animal’, ‘human being’ is by
the necessity of the mode taken confusedly and distributively for all its supposita.
Given that all humans have their own essence, the copula ‘is’ is taken by the necessity
of the thing for all essences that ‘human being’ supposits for, and therefore
‘animal’ is taken by the necessity of the thing for all animality in each human
being. By this reasoning ‘human being’ is said to supposit confusedly. mobilely,
and distributively. It supposits confusedly and distributively, because it holds for
all humans, and it supposits mobilely because descent can be made from it to
any of its supposita. ‘Animal’ is said to supposit confusedly and immobilely, since
descent is not allowed.
In relation to supposition Peter also discussed notions like ampliation, appellation,
restriction and distribution. Ampliation and restriction is a division of
personal supposition. Restriction is the narrowing of a common term from a
larger to a smaller supposition. In ‘A white human being is running’, ‘white’ has a
narrowing effect on the supposition of ‘human being’. Ampliation is the opposite,
that is, the broadening of the supposition of a common term. In the proposition ‘A
human being can be the Antichrist’, the term ‘can’ extends the supposition of ‘human
being’ to future things. Tensed or modal proposition tend to have ampliated
supposition.
Appellation is related to these two notions. Appellation is the acceptance of a
term for an existing thing. It is distinct from signification and supposition, since it
only concerns existing things while signification and supposition is wider than that
and includes also non-existence. The appellata of a term are the existing things it
stands for. Distribution, which has already been mentioned, is the multiplication
of a common term by a universal sign. In ‘Every human being’, ‘human being’ is
distributed for all humans.
93 William of Sherwood starts his division by a distinction between formal and material supposition.
Material supposition is “when a word itself supposits either for the very utterance itself
or for the word itself, composed of the utterance and the signification — as if we were to say
‘man is a monosyllable’ or ‘man is a name’. It is formal when a word supposits what it signifies.”
(William of Sherwood, Introduction to Logic, 107.) William’s division is the one that is more
known, but he mentions Peter’s division as an alternative.