John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot"; – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and
Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-theologians of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
in the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
, together with
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
,
Bonaventure and
William of Ockham.
Duns Scotus has had considerable influence on both
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and secular thought. The doctrines for which he is best known are the "
univocity of being", that existence is the most abstract concept we have, applicable to everything that exists; the
formal distinction, a way of distinguishing between different formalities of the same thing; and the idea of
haecceity, the property supposed to be in each individual thing that makes it an individual (i.e. a certain “thisness”). Duns Scotus also developed a complex argument for the existence of God, and argued for the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...
of
Mary. The intellectual tradition derived from Scotus' work is called
Scotism.
Duns Scotus was given the
scholastic accolade ''Doctor Subtilis'' ("the subtle doctor") for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought. He was
beatified by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
in 1993.
Life

Little is known of Duns Scotus apart from his work. His date of birth is believed to have been sometime between 23 December 1265 and 17 March 1266. He was born into a leading family of the region. The reputed site of his birth, in front of the Pavilion Lodge, near the North Lodge of
Duns Castle in Scotland, is now marked by a
cairn
A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...
which was erected in 1966 by the Franciscan friars of the United Kingdom to mark the 700th anniversary of his birth. Duns Scotus received the
religious habit of the Order of Friars Minor at
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
, where his uncle, Elias Duns, was
guardian.
Duns Scotus's age is based on the first certain date for his life, that of his ordination to the
priesthood at
St Andrew's,
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
, England, on 17 March 1291. The minimum
canonical age for receiving
holy orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
is 25 and it is generally assumed that he would have been ordained as soon as it was permitted. That his contemporaries called him Johannes Duns, after the medieval practice of calling people by their Christian name followed by their place of origin, suggests that he came from
Duns, in Berwickshire, Scotland.
According to tradition, Duns Scotus was educated at a Franciscan ''
studium generale'' (a
medieval university
A medieval university was a corporation organized during the Middle Ages for the purposes of higher education. The first Western European institutions generally considered to be universities were established in present-day Italy, including the K ...
), a house behind
St Ebbe's Church, Oxford, in a triangular area enclosed by Pennyfarthing Street and running from
St Aldate's to the castle, the bailey and the old wall, where the Friars Minor had moved when the
University of Paris
The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
was
dispersed in 1229–30. At that time there would have been about 270 people living there, of whom about 80 would have been friars.
Duns Scotus appears to have been in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
by 1300, as he is listed among a group of friars for whom the
provincial superior of the English
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...
(which included Scotland) requested faculties from the
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...
for the hearing of
confessions.
He took part in a disputation under the regent master, Philip of
Bridlington
Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...
in 1300–01. He began lecturing on
Peter Lombard's ''
Sentences'' at the prestigious University of Paris towards the end of 1302. Later in that academic year, however, he was expelled from the University of Paris for siding with
Pope Boniface VIII in his feud with King
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...
over the taxation of church property.
Duns Scotus was back in Paris before the end of 1304, probably returning in May. He continued lecturing there until, for reasons that are still mysterious, he was dispatched to the Franciscan ''studium'' at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, probably in October 1307. According to the 15th-century writer
William Vorilong, his departure was sudden and unexpected. He was relaxing or talking with students in the ''Prato clericorum'' or ''Pré-aux-Clercs'' – an open area of the
Rive Gauche used by scholars for recreation – when orders arrived from the Franciscan
Minister General; Scotus left immediately, taking few or no personal belongings.
Duns Scotus died unexpectedly in Cologne in November 1308; the date of his death is traditionally given as 8 November. He is buried in the
Church of the Friars Minor there. His
sarcophagus bears the Latin poem:
The story about Duns Scotus being
buried alive, in the absence of his servant who alone knew of his susceptibility to coma, is probably a myth. The first known attestation of this theme dates from around 1400. Among many authors,
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...
reported it in his ''Historia vitae et mortis''.
The
colophon of Codex 66 of
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
, says that Scotus was also at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
.
Work
Scotus's great work is his commentary on the ''
Sentences'' of
Peter Lombard, which contains nearly all the philosophical views and arguments for which he is well known, including the
univocity of being, the
formal distinction, less than numerical unity, individual nature or "thisness" (
haecceity), his critique of
illuminationism and his renowned argument for the existence of God. His commentary exists in several versions. The standard version is the ''Ordinatio'' (also known as the ''Opus oxoniense''), a revised version of lectures he gave as a bachelor at Oxford. The initial revision was probably begun in the summer of 1300 – see the remarks in the Prologue, question 2, alluding to the
Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar in 1299, news of which probably reached Oxford in the summer of 1300. It was still incomplete when Scotus left for Paris in 1302.
The two other versions of the work are Scotus's notes for the Oxford lectures, recently transcribed and published as the ''Lectura'', the first book of which was probably written in Oxford in the late 1290s,
and the ''Reportatio parisiensis'' (or ''Opus parisiense''), consisting of transcriptions of the lectures on the ''Sentences'' given by Scotus when he was in Paris. A ''reportatio'' is a student report or transcription of the original lecture of a master. A version that has been checked by the master himself is known as a ''reportatio examinata''.
By the time of Scotus, these 'commentaries' on the ''Sentences'' were no longer literal commentaries. Instead,
Peter Lombard's original text was used as a starting point for highly original discussions on topics of theological or philosophical interest. For example, Book II Distinction 2, about the location of angels, is a starting point for a complex discussion about continuous motion, and whether the same thing can be in two different places at the same time (
bilocation). In the same book, Distinction 3, he uses the question of how angels can be different from one another, given that they have no material bodies, to investigate the difficult question of
individuation in general.

Scotus wrote purely philosophical and logical works at an early stage of his career, consisting of commentaries on Aristotle's ''
Organon''. These are the ''Questions'' on
Porphyry's ''
Isagoge'' and Aristotle's ''
Categories'', ''
Peri hermeneias'', and ''
De sophisticis elenchis'', probably dating to around 1295. His commentary on Aristotle's ''
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
'' was probably written in stages, the first version having started around 1297,
with significant additions and amendments possibly after the completion of the main body of the ''Ordinatio''. His ''Expositio'' on the ''Metaphysics'' was lost for centuries but was recently rediscovered and edited by Giorgio Pini.
[Thomas Williams (2009)]
"John Duns Scotus"
''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (online).
In addition, there are 46 short disputations called ''Collationes'', probably dating from 1300 to 1305; a work in natural theology (''De primo principio''); and his ''Quaestiones Quodlibetales'', a record of a
quodlibetal disputation probably dating to Advent 1306 or Lent 1307.
A number of works once believed to have been written by Scotus are now known to have been misattributed. There were already concerns about this within two centuries of his death, when the 16th-century logician
Jacobus Naveros noted inconsistencies between these texts and his commentary on the ''Sentences'', leading him to doubt whether he had written any logical works at all. ''The Questions on the Prior Analytics'' (''In Librum Priorum Analyticorum Aristotelis Quaestiones'') were also discovered to be mistakenly attributed. In 1922,
Grabmann showed that the logical work ''De modis significandi'' was actually by
Thomas of Erfurt, a 14th-century logician of the
modist school. Thus the claim that
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...
wrote his
habilitation thesis on Scotus is only half true, as the second part is actually based on the work by Erfurt.
Metaphysics
Realism
Scotus' view of universals is known as
Scotistic realism. Scotus is generally considered to be a
realist (as opposed to a
nominalist
In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are two main versions of nominalism. One denies the existence of universals—that which can be inst ...
) in that he treated universals as real, but he held that they exist both in particular things and as concepts in the mind (as opposed to a Platonic "third realm"). He attacks a position close to that later defended by
Ockham, arguing that things have a common nature – for example the humanity common to
Socrates
Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
,
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
, and
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
.
Univocity of being
He followed
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
in asserting that the subject matter of
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
is "being qua being" (''ens inquantum ens''). Being in general (''ens in communi''), as a univocal notion, was for him the first object of the intellect. The doctrine of the
univocity of being implies the denial of any real distinction between
essence and
existence
Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one does ...
.
Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
had argued that in all finite being (i.e. all except God) the essence of a thing is distinct from its existence. Scotus rejected the distinction. Scotus argued that we cannot conceive of what it is to be something, without conceiving it as existing. We should not make any distinction between whether a thing exists (''si est'') and what it is (''quid est'') for we never know whether something exists unless we have some concept of what we know to exist.
Individuation
Scotus elaborates a distinct view on
hylomorphism
Hylomorphism is a philosophical doctrine developed by the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, which conceives every physical entity or being ('' ousia'') as a compound of matter (potency) and immaterial form (act), with the generic form as imm ...
, with three important strong theses that differentiate him. He held: 1) that there exists
matter
In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic pa ...
that has no form whatsoever, or prime matter, as the stuff underlying all change, against Aquinas (cf. his ''Quaestiones in Metaphysicam'' 7, q. 5; ''Lectura'' 2, d. 12, q. un.), 2) that not all created substances are composites of form and matter (cf. ''Lectura'' 2, d. 12, q. un., n. 55), that is, that purely spiritual substances do exist, and 3) that one and the same substance can have more than one substantial form – for instance, humans have at least two substantial forms, the soul and the form of the body (''forma corporeitas'') (cf. ''Ordinatio'' 4, d. 11, q. 3, n. 54). He argued for an original principle of
individuation (cf. ''Ordinatio'' 2, d. 3, pars 1, qq. 1–6), the "
haecceity" as the ultimate unity of a unique individual (''haecceitas'', an entity's 'thisness'), as opposed to the common
nature
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
(''natura communis'') feature existing in any number of individuals. For Scotus, the axiom stating that only the individual exists is a dominating principle of the understanding of reality. For the apprehension of individuals, an intuitive cognition is required, which gives us the present existence or the non-existence of an individual, as opposed to abstract cognition. Thus the human soul, in its separated state from the body, will be capable of knowing the spiritual intuitively.
Formal distinction
Like other realist philosophers of the period (such as Aquinas and
Henry of Ghent) Scotus recognised the need for an intermediate distinction that was not merely conceptual but not fully real or mind-dependent either. Scotus argued for a
formal distinction (''distinctio formalis a parte rei''), which holds between entities which are inseparable and indistinct in reality but whose definitions are not identical. For example, the personal properties of the
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
are formally distinct from the Divine essence. Similarly, the distinction between the 'thisness' or ''haecceity'' of a thing is intermediate between a real and a conceptual distinction. There is also a formal distinction between the divine attributes and the powers of the soul.
Theology
Voluntarism
Scotus was an Augustinian-Franciscan theologian.
He is usually associated with
theological voluntarism, the tendency to emphasize God's will and human freedom in all philosophical issues. The main difference between
Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
's rational theology and that of Scotus is that Scotus believed certain predicates may be applied univocally, with exactly the same meaning, to God and creatures, whereas Aquinas insisted that this is impossible and that only analogical predication can be employed, in which a word as applied to God has a meaning different from, although related to, the meaning of that same word as applied to creatures. Duns struggled throughout his works in demonstrating his univocity theory against Aquinas's analogy doctrine.
Scotus gave the lecture, ''Lectura'' I 39, during 1297–1299 to refute the view that everything is necessary and immutable. He claims that the aim of this lecture has two points (''Lectura'' I 39, §31): first, to consider the contingency in what is (''de contingentia in entibus''); second, to consider how God's certain knowledge is compatible with the contingency of things. Scotus tries to defend the validity of Christian theology against the attack of ancient philosophers. The main argument is unpacked in ''Lectura'' I 39, §§49–53. Scotus argues that a necessary being (God) is able to have contingent knowledge, and that although this knowledge is contingent, it is not necessarily mutable and temporal by that very fact. In ''Lectura'' I 39 §1, Scotus asks, "whether God has determinate knowledge of things according to every aspect of their existence, as according to being in the future." He presents a counterview which claims that God cannot have determinate knowledge of the future. To support this counterview, he uses Aristotle's ''De Interpretatione'' IX. In the following arguments, Scotus does not attempt to contradict Aristotle. He does not affirm or reject the ideas of Aristotle. The only issue he argues against is the proposition that God cannot have determinate knowledge of the future. Scotus appears to try to fully demonstrate that Aristotle's text is not contradictory to the Christian doctrine of God. Scotus argues that God wills with one single volition (''unica volitione'') whatever he wills. God has one volition ''ad intra'', but this one volition can be related to many opposite things ''ad extra''. God can simultaneously will one thing at time 1 and the opposite thing at time 2. There are various possible interpretations of Aristotle's ''De Interpretatione'' IX. For example, John Buridan (ca. 1300–1362) thought the Scotistic contingency theory was an
Aristotelian view. Buridan's judgment is all the more possible because of at least four reasons: (1) Aristotle's ''De Interpretatione'' IX, 19a23-25 can be interpreted like the Scotistic contingency theory; (2) Scotus himself does not refute Aristotle's ''De Interpretatione'' IX in ''Lectura'' I 39 §§49–53; (3) Scotus, rather, tries to formulate his contingency theory with the help of other works of Aristotle in ''Lectura'' I 39 §§51, 54; (4) Scotus introduces the diachronic feature of God's volition to his contingency theory as well as the synchronic feature.
Metaphysical argument for the existence of God
Duns Scotus argued that it is better to construct a metaphysical argument for the existence of God, rather than the more common physical argument from motion favoured by Aquinas, following Aristotle. Though the version in ''De Primo Principio'' is the most complete and final version, the ''Ordinatio'' proof is usually offered. However, the ''De Primo'' version gives a wider understanding of the argument as well as Scotus's metaphysical underpinnings for his argument for God's existence, but the ''Ordinatio'' version will be followed here. Briefly, Scotus begins his proof by explaining that there are two angles we must take in arguing for the existence of an actually infinite being. First from the view of the Relative Properties of God and second from the Absolute Properties of God. Relative properties are those which are predicable of God in relation to creation; absolute properties are those which belong to God whether or not He chose to create. Under the first heading of Relative Properties, Scotus argues for a triple primacy of efficiency, finality and pre-eminence. From there he shows that one primacy implies the others, and finally there can only be one nature that is the First Efficient Cause, Ultimate End, and the Most Perfect Nature. From there the Subtle Doctor discusses the Absolute Properties of God. The First Being is intellectual and volitional, and the intellect and will are identical with the essence of this supreme nature. The First Being is also infinite being. While discussing the infinity of God, Scotus resurrects Anselm's argument and responds to the criticism that Anselm makes an illicit leap from concept to reality. Finally, he gives a definite answer of "yes" to the question of whether there exists an actually infinite being. The very next question of the ''Ordinatio'' deals with the unicity of the nature thus proved to exist. However, the ''De Primo Principio'' version concludes with this argument.
The proof for the conclusion that "some efficient cause is simply first such that neither can it be an effect nor can it, by virtue of something other than itself, cause an effect" ''Ordinatio'' I.2.43 runs like this:
# Something can be produced.
# It is produced either by itself, nothing, or another.
# Not by nothing, for nothing causes nothing.
# Not by itself, for an effect never causes itself.
# Therefore, by another; call it ''A''.
# If ''A'' is first, then we have reached the conclusion.
# If ''A'' is not first, but also an effect, we return to 2). ''A'' is produced either by itself, nothing, or another.
# From 3) and 4), we say another, ''B''. The ascending series will either continue infinitely or we finally reach something which has nothing prior to it.
# An infinite ascending series is impossible.
# Therefore, etc.
Scotus acknowledges two objections and deals with them accordingly. First is that he begs the question in assuming a first in the series. Here he argues that while many admit an infinite regress in an accidentally ordered series of causes, no philosopher admits infinite regress in an essentially ordered series. Scotus explains the differences between the two and offers proofs for the conclusion that an infinity of essentially ordered causes in a series is impossible. Second, it is objected that his proof is not really a demonstration since it begins with a contingent premise. That something is produced is contingent and not necessary. Therefore, the proof proceeds from a contingent and not a necessary premise. Scotus says that while that is true, it is utterly manifest that things are produced or effected. But in order to respond, Scotus makes a modal move and reworks the argument. Now he argues from the possibility of production. "It is possible that something can be produced" is a necessary proposition. From there he is able to conclude that it is possible that the first efficient cause exists, and if it is possible that it exists, then it does exist. He asserts that the last claim will be proved later in the argument. In the ''Lectura'' proof, Scotus argues the following way:
For more on this argument, see especially "Authors/Duns Scotus/Ordinatio/Ordinatio I/D2/Q2B".
Illuminationism
Scotus argued against the version of
illuminationism that had been defended earlier in the century by
Henry of Ghent. In his ''Ordinatio'' (I.3.1.4) he argued against the sceptical consequences that Henry claimed would follow from abandoning divine illumination. Scotus argued that if our thinking were fallible in the way Henry had believed, such illumination could not, even in principle, ensure "certain and pure knowledge".
Immaculate Conception
Perhaps the most influential point of Duns Scotus's theology was his defense of the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...
of
Mary (i.e., that Mary herself was conceived without sin). At the time, there was a great deal of argument about the subject. The general opinion was that it was appropriately deferential to the
Mother of God, but it could not be seen how to resolve the problem that only with
Christ
Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
's death would the stain of
original sin be removed. The great philosophers and theologians of the West were divided on the subject (indeed, even
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
sided with those who denied the doctrine). The
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
had existed in the East (though in the East, the feast is just of the Conception of Mary) since the seventh century and had been introduced in several dioceses in the West as well, even though the philosophical basis was lacking. Citing
Anselm of Canterbury's principle, "''potuit, decuit, ergo fecit''" (He
.e., Godcould do it, it was appropriate, therefore He did it), Duns Scotus devised the following argument: Mary was in need of redemption like all other human beings, but through the merits of Jesus'
crucifixion, given in advance, she was conceived without the stain of original sin. God could have brought it about (1) that she was never in original sin, (2) she was in sin only for an instant, (3) she was in sin for a period of time, being purged at the last instant. Whichever of these options was most excellent should probably be attributed to Mary. This apparently careful statement provoked a storm of opposition at Paris, and suggested the line 'fired France for Mary without spot' in the famous poem "Duns Scotus's Oxford," by
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...
.
Scotus's argument appears in
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
's 1854 declaration of the
dogma of the Immaculate Conception, "at the first moment of Her conception, Mary was preserved free from the stain of original sin, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ."
Scotus's position was hailed as "a correct expression of the faith of the Apostles."
Another of Scotus's positions also gained official approval of the Catholic Church: his doctrine on the universal primacy of Christ became the underlying rationale for the feast of Christ the King instituted in 1925.
During his pontificate,
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
recommended the reading of Duns Scotus's theology to modern theology students.
Veneration
Duns Scotus was long honored as a
Blessed by the Order of Friars Minor, as well as in the
Archdioceses of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. In the 19th century, the process was started seeking his recognition as such by the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, on the basis of a ''
cultus immemorabilis'', i.e., one of ancient standing.
On 27 July 1920, a committee of theologians was convened to evaluate his spiritual writings for orthodoxy.
He was declared
Venerable
''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom.
Catholic
In the Catholic Churc ...
by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
in 1991, who officially recognized his liturgical cult, effectively
beatifying him on 20 March 1993.
Later reputation and influence
Later medieval period
Owing to Scotus's early and unexpected death, he left behind a large body of work in an unfinished or unedited condition. His students and disciples extensively edited his papers, often confusing them with works by other writers, in many cases leading to misattribution and confused transmission. Most 13th-century Franciscans followed
Bonaventura, but the influence of Scotus (as well as that of his arch-rival
William of Ockham) spread in the fourteenth century. Franciscan theologians in the late Middle Ages were thus divided between so-called Scotists and Ockhamists. Fourteenth century followers included
Francis of Mayrone (died 1325),
Antonius Andreas (died 1320),
William of Alnwick (died 1333), and John of Bassolis (died 1347), supposedly Scotus's favourite student.
Sixteenth to nineteenth centuries
His reputation suffered during the
English reformation
The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
, probably due to its association with the Franciscans. In a letter to
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
about his visit to Oxford in 1535,
Richard Layton described how he saw the court of New College full of pages from Scotus's work, "the wind blowing them into every corner."
John Leland described the Oxford Greyfriar's library in 1538 (just prior to its dissolution) as an accumulation of "cobwebs, moths and bookworms."
Critics of Scotus' work described his followers as "
dunces"; the "dunce cap" was later used as a form of punishment in schools and the word "dunce" has come to be used as a term to describe someone dull-witted. When in the sixteenth century the Scotists argued against
Renaissance humanism, the term ''duns'' or ''dunce'' became, in the mouths of humanists and reformers, a term of abuse and a
synonym for one incapable of
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
.
Despite this, Scotism grew in Catholic Europe. Scotus's works were collected into many editions, particularly in the late fifteenth century with the advent of
printing
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...
. His school was probably at the height of its popularity at the beginning of the seventeenth century; during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries there were special Scotist chairs, e.g. at Paris, Rome, Coimbra, Salamanca, Alcalá, Padua, and Pavia. New ideas were included
pseudographical
A pseudepigraph (also :wikt:anglicized, anglicized as "pseudepigraphon") is a false attribution, falsely attributed work, a text whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. Th ...
ly in later editions of his work, such as the
principle of explosion, now attributed to Pseudo-Scotus. Scotism flourished well into the seventeenth century, and its influence can be seen in such writers as
Descartes and
Bramhall. Interest dwindled in the eighteenth century, and the revival of scholastic philosophy, known as
neo-Scholasticism, was essentially a revival of Thomistic thinking.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...
was able to reconcile his religious calling and his vocation as a poet thanks to his reading of Duns Scotus. His poem ''As Kingfishers Catch Fire'' expresses Duns Scotus's ideas on "haecceity".
Twentieth century
The twentieth century saw a resurgence of interest in Scotus, with a range of assessments of his thought.
For one thing, Scotus has received interest from secular philosophers such as Peter King, Gyula Klima, Paul Vincent Spade, and others.
For some today, Scotus is one of the most important
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
theologians and the founder of
Scotism, a special form of
Scholasticism
Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and Ca ...
. He came out of the Old Franciscan School, to which
Haymo of Faversham (died 1244),
Alexander of Hales (died 1245),
John of Rupella (died 1245),
William of Melitona (died 1260), St.
Bonaventure (died 1274),
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Matthew of Aquasparta (died 1289),
John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 1292),
Richard of Middletown (died c. 1300) and others belonged. He was known as "Doctor Subtilis" because of the subtle distinctions and nuances of his thinking.
Later philosophers in the sixteenth century were less complimentary about his work and accused him of
sophistry. This led to the word "
dunce," which developed from the name "Dunse" given to his followers in the 1500s, becoming used for "somebody who is incapable of
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
." Critics of Scotus' work described his followers as "dunces". The 'dunce cap' was used as a form of punishment in schools and the word 'dunce' has come to be used as a term to describe someone dull-witted.
An important question since the 1960s has revolved over whether Scotus's thought heralded a change in thinking on the nature of 'being,' a change which marked a shift from Aquinas and other previous thinkers; this question has been particularly significant in recent years because it has come to be seen as a debate over the origins of 'modernity.' This line of argument first emerged in the 1960s among popular French philosophers who, in passing, singled out Duns Scotus as the figure whose theory of univocal being changed an earlier approach which Aquinas had shared with his predecessors. Then, in 1990, the historian of philosophy Jean-Francois Courtine argued that, between the time of Aquinas in the mid-thirteenth century and
Francisco Suárez at the turn of the seventeenth, a fundamentally new approach to being was developed, with Scotus taking a major part in its development. During the 1990s, various scholars extended this argument to locate Scotus as the first thinker who succumbed to what
Heidegger termed 'onto-theology'.
In recent years, this criticism of Scotus has become disseminated in particular through the writings of the 'Radical Orthodox' group of theologians, drawing on
John Milbank and
Catherine Pickstock. The Radical Orthodox model has been questioned by
Daniel Horan and Thomas Williams, both of whom claim that Scotus's doctrine of the univocity of being is a semantic, rather than an ontological theory. Both thinkers cite Ord. 1, d. 3, pars 1, q. 3, n. 163, in which Scotus claims that "This
nivocallyis how all the authoritative passages one might find on this topic in the Metaphysics or Physics should be interpreted: in terms of the ontological diversity of those things to which the concept is attributed, which is compatible with there being one concept that can be abstracted from them". Such a quotation seems to refer to epistemology, with abstracted concepts, rather than with ontology, which Scotus admits can be diverse.
In popular media
In 2012 Fernando Muraca directed for TVCO and the
Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate the biopic ''Blessed Duns Scotus: Defender of the Immaculate Conception'' in Italian.
It centers on the debate at the Paris University with glimpses of his infancy and Franciscan vocation. Adriano Braidotti played the adult Scotus and Emanuele Maria Gamboni played Scotus as a child.
Bibliography
; Works in rough chronological order
* Before 1295:
** ''Parva logicalia''
*** ''Quaestiones super Porphyrii Isagogem''
*** ''Quaestiones in librum Praedicamentorum''
*** ''Quaestiones in I et II librum Perihermeneias''
*** ''Octo quaestiones in duos libros Perihermeneias''
*** ''Quaestiones in libros Elenchorum''
* ''Quaestiones super libros De anima'' (1295–1298?)
* ''Quaestiones super libros Metaphysicorum Aristotelis'' (1298–1300?; revised later)
* ''Notabilia Scoti super Metaphysicam'' (a set of notes concerning books II–X and XII of Aristotle's ''Metaphysics'', discovered only in 1996
[Giorgio Pini, "Duns Scotus' Literal Commentary on the "Metaphysics" and the "Notabilia Scoti super Metaphysicam" (Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, C 62 Sup, ff. 51r–98r)", '' Bulletin de philosophie médiévale'', 38 (1996), 141–142.])
* ''Lectura'' (Early Oxford Lectures on the four books of the ''Sentences'' of Peter Lombard)
** Books 1 and 2 (1300–1301)
** Book 3 (probably written in Paris, 1303–04)
** Book 4 (not extant)
* ''Ordinatio'' or ''Opus Oxoniense'' (Oxford Lectures: a revision of the lectures given at Oxford, books 1 and 2 summer 1300–1302, books 3 and 4, 1303–1304)
* ''Collationes oxonienses'' (1303–04 or 1305–08)
* ''Collationes parisienses'' (1302–07)
* ''Reportatio parisiensis'' (Paris Lectures, 1302–07)
* ''Quaestiones Quodlibetales'' (edited by Felix Alluntis in ''Obras del Doctor Sutil, Juan Duns Escoto'', Madrid, Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1963)
* ''Tractatus de Primo Principio'' (Treatise on the First Principle
English Translation* ''Theoremata'' (uncertain date)
; Dubious works
* ''Theoremata''
; Spurious works
* ''De Rerum Principio'' (Of the Beginning of Things). An inauthentic work once attributed to Scotus.
; Latin editions
* OPERA OMNIA. (''Wadding Edition'', so-called after its editor
Luke Wadding
Luke Wadding (16 October 158818 November 1657), was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian.
Life
Early life
Wadding was born on 16 October 1588 in Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia Lombar ...
) Lyon, 1639; reprinted Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1968. [Despite the title, this edition does not represent all the works of Scotus. Certain works printed in it are no longer attributed to Scotus; certain works by Scotus are omitted (including his early ''Lectura'' on the Sentences of Peter Lombard); what the book presents as Book I of Scotus's late ''Reportatio'' is in fact an entirely separate work whose authenticity and authority are vigorously disputed.]
* OPERA OMNIA. (''Vatican Edition'' = VE) Civitas Vaticana: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1950–.
** ORDINATIO (complete critical edition)
** I, De Ordinatione Ioannis Duns Scoti disquisitio historico critica. Prologus totius operis, 1950.
** II, Ordinatio. Liber Primus. Distinctiones 1–2, 1950.
** III, Ordinatio. Liber Primus. Distinctio 3, 1954.
** IV, Ordinatio. Liber Primus. Distinctiones 4–10, 1956.
** V, Ordinatio. Liber Primus. Distinctiones 11–25, 1959.
** VI, Ordinatio. Liber Primus. Distinctiones 26–48, 1963.
** VII, Ordinatio. Liber Secundus. Distinctiones 1–3, 1973.
** VIII, Ordinatio. Liber Secundus. Distinctiones 4–44, 2001.
** IX, Ordinatio. Liber Tertius. Distinctiones 1–17, 2006.
** X, Ordinatio. Liber Tertius. Distinctiones 26–40, 2007.
** XI, Ordinatio. Liber Quartus. Distinctiones 1–7, 2008.
** XII, Ordinatio. Liber Quartus. Distinctiones 8–13, 2010.
** XIII, Ordinatio. Liber Quartus, Distinctiones 14–42, 2011.
** XIV, Ordinatio. Liber Quartus, Distinctiones 43–49, 2013.
** LECTURA
** XVI, Lectura in Librum Primum Sententiarum. Prologus et Distinctiones 1–7, 1960.
** XVII, Lectura in Librum Primum Sententiarum. Distinctiones 8–45, 1966.
** XVIII, Lectura in Librum Secundum Sententiarum. Distinctiones 1–6, 1982.
** XIX, Lectura in Librum Secundum Sententiarum. Distinctiones 7–44, 1993.
** XX, Lectura in Librum Tertium Sententiarum. Distinctiones 1–17, 2003.
** XXI, Lectura in Librum Tertium Sententiarum. Distinctiones 18–40, 2004.
* OPERA PHILOSOPHICA (= OP). St. Bonaventure, NY: The Franciscan Institute:, 1997–2006:
** Vol. I: Quaestiones super Porphyrius Isagoge et Aristoteles Categoriae, Franciscan Institute Publications, 1999.
** Vol. II: Quaestiones super Peri hermeneias et Sophistici Elenchis (along with) Theoremata, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2004, .
** Vol. III-IV: ''Quaestiones super libros Metaphysicorum Aristotelis'' Franciscan Institute Publications, 2004. .
** Vol. V: Quaestiones super Secundum et Tertium de Anima. Franciscan Institute Publications, 2006. .
* The Examined Report of the Paris Lecture, Reportatio I-A, Volume 1, edited and translated by Allan B. Wolter, OFM and Oleg Bychkov. Franciscan Institute Publications, 2004
* The Examined Report of the Paris Lecture, Reportatio I-A, Volume 2, edited and translated by Allan B. Wolter, OFM and Oleg Bychkov. Franciscan Institute Publications, 2008.
; English translations
* John Duns Scotus, ''A Treatise on God as First Principle''. Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press 1982. A Latin text and English translation of the De Primo Principio. Second edition, revised, with a commentary by Allan Wolter, (First edition 1966).
* John Duns Scotus, ''God and Creatures. The Quodlibetal Questions'', Translated by Wolter, Allan B., OFM, and Felix Alluntis, Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1975.
* ''Duns Scotus on the Will and Morality'', Translated by Wolter, Allan B., OFM, Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1986.
* ''Duns Scotus: Philosophical Writings'', Translated by Wolter, Allan B., OFM, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1987.
* ''Duns Scotus' Parisian Proof for the Existence of God'', edited By Allan B. Wolter and Marilyn McCord Adams, Franciscan Studies 42, 1982, pp. 248–321. (Latin text and English translation).
* John Duns Scotus, ''Contingency and Freedom. Lectura I 39'', translation, commentary and introduction by A. Vos Jaczn, H. Veldhuis, A.H. Looman-Graaskamp, E. Dekker and N.W. den Bok. The New Synthese Historical Library 4. Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer, 1994.
* ''Questions on the Metaphysics of Aristotle by John Duns Scotus'', Translated by Etzkorn, Girard J., and Allan B. Wolter, OFM, St. Bonaventure, NY: The Franciscan Institute, 1997–1998.
* ''John Duns Scotus. Four Questions on Mary'', Introduction with Latin text and English translation and notes by Allan B. Wolter, OFM, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2000.
* ''John Duns Scotus. A Treatise on Potency and Act. Questions on the Metaphysics of Aristotle Book IX'', Introduction with Latin text and English translation and notes by Allan B. Wolter, OFM, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2000.
* ''John Duns Scotus. Political and Economic Philosophy'', Introduction with Latin text and English translation and notes by Allan B. Wolter, OFM, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2001.
* ''Duns Scotus on Divine Love: Texts and Commentary on Goodness and Freedom, God and Humans'', translated by A. Vos, H. Veldhuis, E. Dekker, N.W. den Bok and A.J. Beck (ed.). Aldershot: Ashgate 2003.
* John Duns Scotus. ''Early Oxford Lecture on Individuation'', Introduction with Latin text and English translation and notes by Allan B. Wolter, OFM, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2005.
* John Duns Scotus. ''Questions on Aristotle's Categories'', Translated by Lloyd A. Newton, Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2014.
* ''Duns Scotus on Time and Existence: The Questions on Aristotle's "De interpretatione"'', Translated with Introduction and Commentary by Edward Buckner and Jack Zupko, Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2014.
See also
*
Oxford Franciscan school
* ''
Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'' – Early depictions of the Immaculate Conception in three generations
Notes
Further reading
*
* Cross, Richard (ed.), ''The Opera Theologica of John Duns Scotus. Proceedings of "The Quadruple Congress" on John Duns Scotus'', Part 2. Archa Verbi. Subsidia 4, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2012, .
*
*
*
*
*
* Honnefelder Ludger, Möhle Hannes, Speer Andreas, Kobusch Theo, Bullido del Barrio Susana (eds.), ''Johannes Duns Scotus 1308-2008: Die philosophischen Perspektiven seines Werkes/Investigations into his Philosophy. Proceedings of "The Quadruple Congress" on John Duns Scotus'', Part 3. Archa Verbi. Subsidia 5, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2011,.
* Horan, Daniel P. OFM, ''Postmodernity and Univocity - A Critical Account of Radical Orthodoxy and John Duns Scotus'', Fortress press, 2014.
* Ingham, Mary Beth CSJ, and Bychkof, OLef (eds.), ''John Duns Scotus, Philosopher. Proceedings of "The Quadruple Congress" on John Duns Scotus'', Part 1. Archa Verbi. Subsidia 3, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2010, .
* Ingham, Mary Beth CSJ, ''Scotus for Dunces: An Introduction to the Subtle Doctor'', Franciscan Institute Publications, 2003.
* Ingham, Mary Beth CSJ, ''The Harmony of Goodness: Mutuality and Moral Living According to John Duns Scotus'', Franciscan Institute Publications, 1997.
*
* Shannon, Thomas ''The Ethical Theory of John Duns Scotus'', Franciscan Institute Publications, 1995.
*
*
* Wolter, Allan B. OFM, ''The Philosophical Theology of John Duns Scotus'', IUthaca, Cornell University Press, 1990.
* Wolter, Allan B. OFM and O'Neil, Blane OFM, ''John Duns Scotus: Mary's Architect'', Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993.
* Wolter, Allan B. OFM, ''Scotus and Ockham: Selected Essays'', Franciscan Institute Publications, 2003.
*
External links
John Duns Scotus (1266–1308)entry by Jeffrey Hause in the ''
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia with around 900 articles about philosophy, philosophers, and related topics. The IEP publishes only peer review, peer-reviewed and blind-refereed original p ...
''
Scotus: Knowledge of Godentry by Alexander Hall in the ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''
*
Site of the International Scotistic Commission (Rome, Italy)Bibliography on Duns Scotus from 1950 by Tobias Hoffmann
Site about Duns Scotus of the Research Group John Duns Scotus (Utrecht, NL)with an annotated bibliography
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927015131/http://www.duns.bordernet.co.uk/history/dunsscotus.html Local history site of Blessed John Duns Scotus's birthplace, Duns, Berwickshire, ScotlandOnline Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma LibrariesHigh resolution images of works by Duns Scotus in .jpg and .tiff format.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duns Scotus, John
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