Description

This book presents the first critical edition of the Syncategoreumata by the thirteenth-century philosopher Peter of Spain (Petrus Hispanus Portugalensis), accompanied by a facing-page English translation to make its contents accessible to modern readers. The introduction gives an account of all the manuscripts used for the edition. Extensive indexes have been added to facilitate the reader's orientation in the book.
The treatise on syncategorematic words is a detailed discussion on all kinds of linguistic expressions that do not have a complete meaning by themselves, but only in combination with categorematic terms, e.g. nouns, adjectives. The so-called 'syncategoreumata' include prepositions, conjunctions, modal words, and the verbs 'is' (est), 'begins' (incipit) and 'ceases' (desinit). The work is an indispensable source-book for understanding theories on the philosophy of language and logic thinking in the thirteenth century. Moreover, the treatise throws considerable light on the author's views concerning ontological and metaphysical matters.