Aristotle and peter of spain: main classical contributors of the theory of signs

There are various areas within the scholastic system of arts and sciences where a rich tradition of semiotic questions and answers accumulated over the centuries (Maierù 1981; Meier-Oeser 1997, 42–170; Fuchs 1999). Most important are those places located in the realm of the so-called trivium (i.e., grammar, rhetoric and logic), especially in logic where already the determination of its primary subject as well as the discussion of the basic logical notions (like ‘term’ or ‘signification’) gave rise to explicit remarks on the concept of sign. The most relevant loci classici of logical contributions to a general theory of sign and signification are: the comments on Aristotle's introductory chapter of On Interpretation (esp. 1. 16a3–8), “the common starting point for virtually all medieval theories of semantics” (Magee 1989, 8), as well as the commentaries (especially from the 15th and early 16th century) on the first tract of the so-called Summulae Logicales of Peter of Spain, and all texts or parts of logical textbooks that are related to one of the aforementioned passages.

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