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Supposition theory was a branch of medieval logic that was probably aimed at giving accounts of issues similar to modern accounts of reference, plurality, tense, and modality, within an Aristotelian context. Philosophers such as John Buridan, William of Ockham, William of Sherwood, Walter Burley, and Peter of Spain were its principal developers. By the 14th century it seems to have drifted into at least two fairly distinct theories, the theory of "supposition proper" which included an "ampliation" and is much like a theory of reference, and the theory of "modes of supposition" whose intended function is not clear. ==Supposition proper== Supposition was a semantic relation between a term and what it is being used to talk about. So, for example, in the suggestion ''Drink another cup'' the term ''cup'' is suppositing for the wine contained in the cup. The logical ''suppositum'' of a term was the object the term referred to, (in grammar ''suppositum'' was used in a different way). However, supposition was a different semantic relationship than signification. Signification was a conventional relationship between utterances and objects mediated by the particularities of a language. ''Poculum'' signifies in Latin, what ''cup'' signifies in English. Signification is the imposition of a meaning on an utterance, but supposition is taking a meaningful term as standing in for something. According to Peter of Spain "Hence signification is prior to supposition. Neither do they belong to the same thing. For to signify belongs to an utterance, but to supposit belongs to a term already, as it were, put together out of an utterance and a signification." An easy way to see the difference is in our ''drink another cup'' example. Here ''cup'' as an utterance signifies a cup as an object, but ''cup'' as a term of the language English is being used to supposit for the wine contained in the cup. Paul Spade's webpage has a series of helpful diagrams here. The most important division is probably between material, simple, personal, and improper supposition. A term supposits materially, when it is used to stand in for an utterance or inscription, rather than for what it signifies. When I say ''Cup is a monosyllabic word,'' I am using the word ''cup'' to supposit materially for the utterance ''cup'' rather than for a piece of pottery. Material supposition is a medieval way of doing the work we would do today by using quotation marks. According to Ockham (''Summa of Logic'' I64, 8) "Simple supposition occurs when a term supposits for an intention of the soul, but is not take significatively." The idea is that simple supposition happens when the term is standing in for a human concept rather than for the object itself. If I say ''Cups are an important type of pottery'' the term ''cups'' is not standing in for any particular cup, but for the idea of a cup in the human mind (according to Ockham, and many medieval logicians, but not according to John Buridan). Personal supposition in contrast is when the term supposits for what it signifies. If I say ''Pass me the cup'' the term ''cup'' is standing in for the object that is called a ''cup'' in English, so it is in personal supposition. A term is in improper supposition, if it is suppositing for an object, but a different object than it signifies, as in my example ''Drink another cup.'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Supposition theory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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