Connexive Principles After a ‘Classical’ Turn in Medieval Logic

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to look at the arguments advanced by three Parisian arts masters about how to understand Prior Analytics II 4 and the more general discussion that medieval authors situate this in, revolving around the validity of various rules of inference. In particular, this paper argues that all three arts masters read Aristotle’s remarks as committing him to a weak form of connexive principles where the antecedent needs to be either true or at least formally possible; this is known in the contemporary literature as a weak connexive thesis.