Consequência e opinio probabilis: a indução dos singulares na Ars Logica de João Poinsot

John Poinsot (John of St. Thomas) (1589-1644) is one of the most prominent thinkers of the so-called late scholasticism. He became notable for his numerous writings, especially in the areas of Logic, Metaphysics, and Theology. In his time, probabilism was a prevailing doctrine in ecclesiastical circles, both in Europe and America. The topic was usually discussed within moral theology, particularly in matters related to the sacrament of penance and right conscience. However, what is proposed in this brief analysis is a logical-epistemic perspective on the opinio probabilis, based on the fundamental gnosiological notions of Poinsot's Ars Logica. Our aim in this exposition is to show that the probable opinion corresponds to a sui generis model of enunciation that presents significantly relevant semantic difficulties for the horizon of language meanings and the epistemic degrees of the notitia of the intentional object. In this context, the doctrine of the sign and relation emerges as indispensable requirements for an adequate approach to the subject, ultimately presented as an inductive model of formal consequence.