Theories of Cognition in the Later Middle Ages

This book is a major contribution to the history of philosophy in the later medieval period (1250–1350). It focuses on cognitive theory, a subject of intense investigation during these years. In fact many of the issues that dominate philosophy of mind and epistemology today - intentionality, mental representation, scepticism, realism - were hotly debated in the later medieval period. The book offers a careful analysis of these debates, primarily through the work of Thomas Aquinas, John Olivi, and William Ockham. Each of these figures attempts to reconceptualise cognition along direct realist lines, criticising in the process the standard Aristotelian account. Though of primary interest to medieval philosophers, the book presupposes no background knowledge of the medieval period, and will therefore interest a broader community of philosophers concerned with the origins of contemporary cognitive theory.

• Book for specialists but cuts across disciplinary boundaries: philosophy, religion, history of ideas • Medieval studies remains a strong area for us • Important work in the history of philosophy, showing the origins of cognitive theory

Introduction; Part I. Fudamentals: 1. Immateriality and Intentionality; 2. Intentionality made mysterious; 3. Form and representation; 4. Passivity and attention; Part II. Representations and realism: 5. Are species superfluous? 6. Aquinas and direct realism; 7. The veil of the species; 8. Word and concept.