The aim of the present edition is to make two texts available
which can throw some more light on the role of Aristotle's
Metaphysics in 14th-15th academic teaching. One of them
contains part of an early (hitherto unknown) version of John
Buridan's Questions on Metaphysics, the other is a 15th
century abbreviation of precisely this early version. Remarkably,
both texts belong to the East European tradition of Buridan's
works, which is the more interesting as they testify to the
master's earlier activities as a Parisian teacher on the subject of
metaphysics. In particular, they elucidate Buridan's ongoing
semantic approach to matters of metaphysics and ontology as well
as his attitude to Aristotle's authority.
L.M. de Rijk (1924) is emeritus professor of Ancient and
Medieval Philosophy of Leiden University. He was a member of the
Dutch Parliament (Senate 1956-1991) and is a member of the Royal
Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW}. He is the author of a large
number of publications, particularly on ancient and medieval
philosophy.