Thomas of Erfurt (fl.c. 1300) was a German philosopher, the most important of the so-called Modistae. He was probably a native of Erfurt. He had some connection to the University of Paris as a teacher or student. He later taught at St Severus' Church and the Schottenkirche in Erfurt.[1]

Thomas wrote at least six works.[1] His major work, Tractatus de modis significandi seu Grammatica speculativa, was often misattributed to John Duns Scotus until 1922.[2] All the early manuscript evidence supports its attribution to Thomas. It was written before 1310. Attributed to Scotus, it was one of the subjects of Martin Heidegger's 1916 doctoral thesis.[1] Charles Sanders Peirce borrowed the name of the first branch of his system of logic, "speculative grammar", from Thomas.[3] The Grammatica speculativa has been published with English translation and commentary by Godfrey Bursill-Hall (Longman, 1972).

Thomas' other works include commentaries on Porphyry's Isagoge, Aristotle's Categories and On Interpretation, and the anonymous Liber sex principiorum. He also wrote a pedagogical poem on grammar, Commentarius in carmen ‘Fundamentum puerorum’.[1]

Notes

edit

Bibliography

edit
  • Bellucci, Francesco (2018). Peirce's Speculative Grammar: Logic as Semiotics. Routledge.
  • Beuchot, Mauricio [in Spanish] (2002). "Thomas of Erfurt". In J. J. E. Gracia; T. N. Noone (eds.). Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 662–663.
  • Zupko, Jack (2019). "Thomas of Erfurt". In E. N. Zalta (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
edit