Boethius's "In Ciceronis Topica"
In Ciceronis Topica and De topicis differentiis are Boethius's two treatises on Topics (loci). Together these two works present Boethius's theory of the art of discovering arguments, a theory that was highly influential in the history of medieval logic. Eleonore Stump here presents the first English language translation of In Ciceronis Topica, Boethius's extended commentary on Cicero's Topica. To supplement her translation, Professor Stump has provided an introduction that supplies essential information about In Ciceronis Topica, Boethius's life, and the tradition of dialectic; her detailed notes explore the many philosophical problems in Boethius's text.
A significant contribution to the history of Western intellectual life in its own right, Boethius's ''In Ciceronis Topica" makes an excellent companion to Professor Stump's earlier work, Boethius's "De topicis differentiis" (also available from Cornell).
Eleonore Stump is the Robert J. Henle, S.J., Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University. She is the author of several books, including Dialectic and its Place in the Development of Medieval Logic and Aquinas. She is the coeditor of Aquinas's Moral Theory, also from Cornell.