William of Heytesbury, or William Heytesbury, called in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Guglielmus Hentisberus or Tisberus (c. 1313 – 1372/1373), was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

philosopher and logician, best known as one of the

Oxford Calculators The Oxford Calculators were a group of 14th-century thinkers, almost all associated with Merton College, Oxford; for this reason they were dubbed "The Merton School". These men took a strikingly logical and mathematical approach to philosophical ...

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he was a fellow.

Life

Heytesbury had become a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Merton by 1330. In his work he applied logical techniques to the problems of

divisibility In mathematics, a divisor of an integer n, also called a factor of n, is an integer m that may be multiplied by some integer to produce n. In this case, one also says that n is a multiple of m. An integer n is divisible or evenly divisible by ...

, the

continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

, and

kinematics Kinematics is a subfield of physics, developed in classical mechanics, that describes the Motion (physics), motion of points, Physical object, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without considering the forces that cause ...

. His ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

'' was the ''Regulae solvendi sophismata'' (''Rules for Solving

Sophism A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...

s''), written about 1335. He was

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

for the year 1371 to 1372.

Works

* 1335 - ''Regulae solvendi sophismata'' (''Rules for Solving Sophisms'') ** 1. ''On insoluble sentences'' ** 2. ''On knowing and doubting'' ** 3. ''On relative terms'' ** 4. ''On beginning and ceasing'' ** 5. ''On maxima and minima'' ** 6. ''On the three categories'' (''De tribus praedicamentis)'' * 1483 - ''De probationibus conclusionum tractatus regularum solvendi sophismata'' (''On the Proofs of Conclusions from the Treatise of Rules for Resolving Syllogisms) -'' Pavia * ''Liber Calculationum''

Notes

External links

* 14th-century English mathematicians Medieval English mathematicians 14th-century philosophers 14th-century English writers 14th-century Latin writers Scholastic philosophers Fellows of Merton College, Oxford {{England-philosopher-stub

Life

Works

Notes

Further reading

External links