Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Communis opinio
(593 words)

1. Definition

A communis opinio (Latin for “general opinion,” “prevailing doctrine”) is a phenomenon of the sciences and everyday life. Since the Middle Ages, the communis opinio has been theorized especially in argumentation theory as a subfield of logic and in jurisprudence.

2. Argumentation theory

The communis opinio (plural: communes opiniones) played a significant part in medieval and early modern argumentation theory (see Topos). According to the maxims related to the a…

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Schröder, Jan, “Communis opinio”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_018123>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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