Logica nova

In the history of logic, the term logica nova (Latin, meaning new logic) refers to a subdivision of the logical tradition of Western Europe, as it existed around the middle of the thirteenth century. According to the availability at the time of the logical works of Aristotle (written in Greek) in Latin translation, there was a logica vetus (old logic) and the logica nova.

The division of works was as follows^[1]:

• Logica vetus (sometimes ars vetus)
  • The Categories
  • The De Interpretatione
  • The Isagoge of Porphyry
  • The Liber sex principiorum, an anonymous commentary on the latter part of the Categories that has often been attributed to Gilbert de la Porrée
  • Sometimes included are works of Boethius^[2] De topicis differentiis, De divisione, De syllogismis categoricis and De syllogismis hypotheticis.^[3]

The seven works, excluding the Liber sex principiorum, were already canonical in the time of Abelard^[4]. He wrote his so-called Logica Ingredientibus on the scheme of a set of seven commentaries.

• Logica nova
  • Prior Analytics
  • Posterior Analytics
  • Topics
  • Sophismata.

The advent of the logica nova was the result of new Latin translations, particularly by James of Venice. The combination of the two logics was termed the logica antiquorum (logic of the ancients). Restricting just to the works of Aristotle, the whole Organon of six works was split by the historical accidents of transmission into two books in the logica vetus, and four in the logica nova.

Another usage for logica nova is for the later theories of Ramón Lull. The logica parva refers to an important textbook of Paul of Venice.

The terminology had some currency at least until the seventeenth century, and Johannes Clauberg's Logica vetus et nova.

Notes

1. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Logic
2. ^ The Cambridge Companion to Abelard - Cambridge University Press
3. ^ See [1] for a more detailed list of relevant commentaries by Boethius.
4. ^ PDF, p.8.