Handbook of the History of Logic: - Fordham University Faculty

442 Catarina Dutilh Novaes
‘British logic’; he was after all an Italian who spent almost his entire life working
in Italy. He did though spend a short period (at least three years, it would seem 11 )
in Oxford in his formative years, and the logic he learned in Oxford remained his
main source of influence in his subsequent writings. It makes thus good sense
to place him among the ‘British’ logicians; moreover, in the 15 th century it was
mainly in Italy that ‘British’ logic flourished, as in Great Britain properly speaking
a period of stagnation in logic occurred.
Paul’s work covers an impressive array of themes, as is attested for example by
the length of his Logica Magna (of which several parts have been recently edited
and translated into English — see bibliography). His Logica Parva (complied
around 1395, at Oxford) was one of the most influential logic textbooks in the
15 th century (Paul of Venice 1984). True enough, most of Paul’s career took place
in the 15 th century, so one might think that he should be treated elsewhere in
this volume, and not in this chapter dedicated to the 14 th century; but in many
senses he epitomizes 14 th century logic. Not only did he deal with virtually all
of the important logical topics of this century (supposition, obligations, the truth
of propositions etc.); he also usually summarized the logical knowledge produced
in this century in his discussions, often quoting verbatim from his sources (for
example, his use of Strode in his treatise on obligations — cf. [Ashworth and
Spade, 1992, fn.99]), while also making original contributions to the discussions.
Another author who was of Italian origin (in fact he was Greek-born) and who
adopted much of the Oxford logic framework after having studied there is Peter of
Candia, later Pope Alexander V. Mostly a theologian, among his logical works are
a treatise on obligationes and one on consequence (cf. [Green-Pedersen, 1985]).
Less influential figures still worth being mentioned are Henry Hopton (in particular
his discussion of the truth of propositions), Robert Fland (in particular
his works on consequence and on obligations, cf. [Spade, 1976; 1980c], Martinus
Anglicus (in particular his works on consequence and on obligations), Johannes
Venator (his Logica is in the spirit of Billingham’s theory of ‘proofs of propositions’
— cf. [de Rijk, 1982] and edited in [Johannes Venator, 1999]), Robert Alington
(a follower of John Wyclif) and Richard Brinkley (in particular his theory of the
signification of propositions and his obligationes — [Brinkley, 1987; 1995]). John
of Holland is an interesting case of an author in some senses belonging to both
traditions, British and Continental. While his writings (cf. [John of Holland,
1985]) show a familiarity with British logicians, which seems to indicate that he
may have studied at Oxford, he is best known for his career at the University of
Prague; therefore, he will be treated in more detail in the section dedicated to the
continental tradition below.
As already said, the end of the 14 th century coincides with a general decline
in British logic. According to Ashworth and Spade [1982, 35], it is a period of
‘logic stagnation leading eventually in the sixteenth century to the rejection of
the ‘thorns’ of scholastic logic’. In the 15 th century, the most interesting and
innovative contributions within the tradition of ‘British’ logic were to take place
11 Cf. [Ashworth and Spade, 1992, 60].