Giovanni di Salisbury sugli universali

John of Salisbury devotes some space to the discussion of universals in his main work, the Metalogicon. He considers different opinions and takes position on the interpretation of logical textbooks. The Metalogicon represents a sort of boundary stone : the setting that John provides serves perfectly the dual purpose of reconsidering the issues addressed by the authors who preceded him (adding some historical and sociological details), and getting a glimpse of the future development of the discussion. John in fact sums up 50 years of interpretations of the Porphyrian text and at the same time provides some ideas — actually rather convoluted ones — for new research perspectives.