Resumen

WYLLIE, Guilherme. The influence of the humanist dialectic and the reform of the scholastic theory of the topics in the Tractatus de locis dialecticis of Alonso of Veracruz. Scripta Mediaevalia [online]. 2015, vol.8, n.2, pp.137-160. ISSN 1851-8753.

In Tractatus de locis dialecticis, Alonso of Veracruz reforms the theory of topics, which is featured by the combination of some of the most expressive elements from rival and, apparently, antagonistic traditions, such as the case of humanist dialectic and scholastic logic. The compatibility between the scholastic and Agricola's definitions of topic were evaluated - since both were assimilated by the Tractatus de locis dialecticis - to determine whether such elements were articulated in an integrated and coherent manner in Friar Alonso's theory. In the current study, we argue that Alonso of Veracruz reconciles these definitions by thinking the topics under an essentially epistemic perspective. Then, we investigate what led Friar Alonso to praise the humanist dialectic innovations and, at the same time, insist on using the maxims, thus ignoring several criticisms directed to them by Rudolph Agricola. We believe that this difficulty may be clarified by the hypothesis that Alonso of Veracruz would have opted for keeping the maxims due to the important role they played in the groundings of the enthymematic inferences. Finally, we investigate the reasons why Alonso's taxonomy of topics is not frustrated by the presence of traces of the scholastic and humanistic theories of topics. In this context, we assume that the topics classification supported by Friar Alonso is not corrupted by its hybrid character, since it matches the most important doctrines of scholastic and humanist traditions.

Palabras clave : Medieval Theory of Topics; Humanist Dialectic; Colonial Scholastic Logic; Alonso of Veracruz; Rudolph Agricola.