Osmund Lewry


Patrick Osmund Lewry was an English Dominican who made significant contributions to the history of logic and the philosophy of language in the thirteenth century. Lewry studied mathematical logic under Lejewski and A.N. Prior at Manchester. From 1962–7 he taught the philosophy of language and logic at Hawkesyard. He was assigned to the Oxford Blackfriars in 1967. Dissatisfaction with teaching led him to work for an Oxford D.Phil. on the logic teaching of Robert Kilwardby. In 1979 he began the study of the history of grammar, logic and rhetoric at Oxford in the period 1220–1320. In 1979 he went to the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto first as a research associate, then as a senior fellow. He died on 23 April 1987 at the age of 57 at the Oxford Dominican House.

Work

Lewry wrote multiple works on Kilwardby's works, and argued that Kilwardby influenced Roger Bacon's thoughts. In particular, Kilwardby is argued to have influenced Bacon's theories on epistemology. Also, Lewry specialized in identifying medieval sources and the attribution of authors for various manuscripts with a special focus on the works attributed to Kilwardby. In one instance, he provided evidence that the work Commenti super Priscianum Maiorem, previously attributed to Kilwardby, was not, in fact, written by the medieval thinker. Later critics have followed his lead and removed any attribution. Lewry was not limited to the works of Kilwardby; he also provided evidence regarding works attributed to Pseudo-Scotus.

Selected works