The Language of Thought in Late Medieval Philosophy

This edited volume presents new lines of research dealing with the language of thought and its philosophical implications in the time of Ockham. It features more than 20 essays that also serve as a tribute to the ground-breaking work of a leading expert in late medieval philosophy: Claude Panaccio.

Coverage addresses topics in the philosophy of mind; discusses the role of causation in individuating mental states and the relationship between causation and resemblance; examines different kinds of concepts, universal and transcendental, as well as the identity of concepts in a nominalist cognitive psychology; explores freedom, will, and whether there is a rational or irrational basis for belief and action; and more.

A distinctive feature of this work is that it brings together contributions in both French and English, the two major research languages today on the main theme in question. It unites the most renowned specialists in the field as well as many of Claude Panaccio’s former students who have engaged with his work over the years. 

In furthering this dialogue, the essays render key topics in fourteenth-century thought accessible to the contemporary philosophical community without being anachronistic or insensitive to the particularities of the medieval context. As a result, this book will appeal to a general population of philosophers and historians of philosophy with interest in logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics.