Medieval Semiotics (meier-oeser, Stephan) / quote 15 of 30
Rejection of Augustine's definition of the sign, and the semantic triangle
The consequences of this view are many: for instance, the rejection, or at least the modification, of Augustine's venerable definition of the sign, and the new possibility to describe the relationship between the concept and its object without referring to the notion of similitude. Furthermore, in the semantic triangle, the Boethian ordo orandi now can be described entirely in terms of sign and significate.[43] Insofar as concepts agree with vocal expressions in their function of being signs, it makes sense to conceive of thought processes as a kind of mental speech (oratio mentalis) showing close analogies to spoken discourse. This again paves the way for the development of a mentalist logic, the principal objects of which are not the vocal terms and propositions any longer, but rather the corresponding mental acts.