Disputatio

Disputatio is a Latin term meaning debate, argument, or disputation. In medieval and early modern Europe, it referred to a formal academic exercise conducted within universities in which a thesis was examined through structured dialectical argument. The exercise was typically public, presided over by a chair or master, and organized around a proposition to be argued.

In a typical disputatio, a disputant would defend a proposition (often phrased as a thesis or question) while opponents or respondents raised objections and challenged the argument. The procedure included presenting pro and contra positions, addressing objections, and offering replies. Examiners or a faculty-appointed judge then delivered a judgment on the quality of the disputation. The format emphasized mastery of authorities, logical reasoning, and rhetorical skill, and it served as a core method in teaching scholastic philosophy, theology, law, and the arts.

The tradition produced written forms as well, most notably the quaestiones disputatae, a genre in which authors published a question and argued pro and contra before arriving at a resolution. Disputatio thus played a central role in the development of medieval and early modern intellectual method, influencing how questions were debated and how scholarly authority was established. In contemporary terms, the term survives mainly as a historical designation for these university exercises, though it can also be used more broadly to describe formal debates.