For reasons of space, this brief overview has touched upon only some of the important aspects in the development of supposition theory only. However, it seems that two general issues must still be addressed, concerning the very gist and purpose of the theory: (1) What is to determine the kind(s) of supposition that a term has in a given proposition? (2) Is there always only one (correct) kind of supposition for a term in a given propositional context? These are difficult questions with no single answer; different authors seem to have held different views.
Concerning (1), most authors seem to hold that the propositional context is indeed the main determining element, as suggested by the maxim ‘‘subjects are such as the predicates permit.’’ Some authors (such as Paul of
Venice, at the end of the fourteenth century; see his Logica parva, p 27), however, maintain that the desired truth of the proposition, or in any case its intended meaning, is what governs the kinds of supposition allowed for its terms. Others, such as Buridan, seem to think that ultimately the agreed-upon interpretation of a statement by the speakers involved in the situation is what really determines the supposition of a term. Yet other authors, in particular Ockham, present rules for the determination of the supposition of the terms in a given propositional context that seem to function almost algorithmically (see Dutilh Novaes 2008b).
As for the second issue, Ockham (like Burley and many other fourteenth-century authors) in fact allows for multiple possibilities of kinds of supposition for a term in one and the same propositional context, entailing thus that the context does not always uniquely determine the supposition of a term. For Ockham, supposition theory is an important device for the generation of the (often multiple) possible readings of propositions (corresponding to the different kinds of supposition permitted by a given propositional context), what in the fourteenth century is known as “distinguishing” propositions. But not all authors insist on the possibility of generating the multiple readings of propositions by means of supposition theory: in earlier developments, the underlying idea seems to be that there should be a unique correct kind of supposition for a term in a given propositional context. However, in both cases supposition theory is essentially a theory for semantic analysis and interpretation.
See also: > Gilbert of Poitiers > John Buridan > Lambert of Lagny > Logic > Marsilius of Inghen > Mental Language > Modal Theories and Modal Logic > Modistae
> Paul of Venice > Peter Helias > Peter of Spain
> Quantification > Roger Bacon > Terms, Properties of
> Trinitarian Logic > Truth, Theories of > Walter Burley
> William of Ockham > William of Sherwood
World History
