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For SCOTUS, see Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. For other uses, see John Scotus. Johannes Scotus or Skotus, John Scotus, or John the Scot may refer to Johannes Scotus Eriugena, Irish theologian philosopher
Western Philosophers
Medieval Philosophy
John Duns Scotus
Name
John Duns Scotus
Birth c. 1266 (Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland)
Death 8 November 1308 (Cologne, Germany)
School/tradition Scholasticism, Founder of Scotism
Main interests Metaphysics, Theology, Logic, Epistemology, Ethics
Notable ideas Univocity of being, Haecceity as a principle of individuation, Immaculate conception of Virgin Mary
Influenced by Aristotle, St. Augustine, Avicenna, Boethius, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Henry of Ghent
Influenced Popes Alexander VI, Sixtus IV, William of Ockham, Martin Luther, René Descartes, Leibniz, Heidegger, Charles Peirce

The blessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M (c. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries Scotism is the name given to the Philosophical and Theological system or school named after John Duns Scotus. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life For dogmatic context see Roman Catholic Mariology. For artistic depictions see Roman Catholic Marian art. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480&ndash524 or 525 was a Christian philosopher of the 6th century Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 &ndash April 21, 1109) was an Italian medieval Philosopher, theologian, and church official Henry of Ghent (c 1217 – 1293 scholastic Philosopher, known as Doctor Solemnis (the Solemn Doctor also known as Henricus de Gandavo Pope Alexander VI ( 1 January 1431 &ndash 18 August 1503) born Roderic Llançol, later Roderic de Borja i Borja ( Pope Sixtus IV ( July 21, 1414 &ndash August 12, 1484) born Francesco Della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484 William of Ockham (also Occam, Hockham, or any of several other spellings ˈɒkəm (c Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (pronounced purse) (September 10 1839 &ndash April 19 1914 was an American Logician mathematician, philosopher Beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed via Greek μακάριος makarios) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic church The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic 1266 – November 8, 1308) was one of the most important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages (the others being Aquinas, Ockham and Bonaventura). Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language The High Middle Ages was the period of European history in the 11th 12th and 13th centuries (AD 1000&ndash1299 William of Ockham (also Occam, Hockham, or any of several other spellings ˈɒkəm (c Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (San Bonaventura (1221 &ndash July 15, 1274) born John of Fidanza (Giovanni di Fidanza was the eighth Minister He was nicknamed Doctor Subtilis for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought.

Scotus has had considerable influence on Roman Catholic 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 aspects of the same thing, and the idea of haecceity, the property supposed to be in each individual thing that makes it an individual. In scholastic Metaphysics, a formal distinction is a distinction intermediate between what is merely conceptual and what is fully real or mind-independent Haecceity (from the Latin haecceitas, which translates as "thisness" is a term from Medieval philosophy first coined by Duns Scotus Scotus also developed a complex argument for the existence of God, and argued for the Immaculate conception of Mary. Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers theologians and others For dogmatic context see Roman Catholic Mariology. For artistic depictions see Roman Catholic Marian art.

Contents

Life

Little is known of Scotus' life. He was probably born at Duns, in the Borders. Duns was created a Burgh of Barony in 1490 by James IV, and is a former County town of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. The Scottish Borders, often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. In 1291 he was ordained in Northampton, England. This article is about Northampton in England for other places of the same name see Northampton (disambiguation Northampton ( is a large Market England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A note in Codex 66 of Merton College, Oxford, records that Scotus "flourished at Cambridge, Oxford and Paris[1]. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city He began lecturing on Peter Lombard's Sentences at the prestigious University of Paris in the Autumn of 1302. The Four Books of Sentences ( Libri Quattuor Sententiarum) is a book of theology written by Peter Lombard in the twelfth century The historic University of Paris (Université de Paris first appeared in the second half of the 13th century Later in that academic year, however, he was expelled from the University of Paris for siding with then Pope Boniface VIII in his feud with Philip the Fair of France, over the taxation of church property. Pope Boniface VIII (c 1235 &ndash October 11, 1303) born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294

Scotus was back in Paris before the end of 1304, probably returning in May. He continued lecturing there until, for reasons which are still mysterious, he was dispatched to the Franciscan studium at Cologne, probably in October 1307. He died there in 1308; the date of his death is traditionally given as 8 November.

He is buried in the Church of the Minorites in Cologne. The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic His sarcophagus bears the Latin inscription: Scotia me genuit. Anglia me suscepit. Gallia me docuit. Colonia me tenet. (trans. "Scotia brought me forth. Scotia was originally the Latin name for Ireland, known to the Romans as Hibernia. England sustained me. France taught me. Cologne holds me. ") He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on March 20, 1993. Beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed via Greek μακάριος makarios) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic church Pope Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) According to an old tradition, Scotus was buried alive following his lapse into a coma.

Reputation and influence

Scotus is considered one of the most important Franciscan theologians and was the founder of Scotism, a special form of Scholasticism. The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic Scotism is the name given to the Philosophical and Theological system or school named after John Duns Scotus. Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries He came out of the Old Franciscan School, to which Haymo of Faversham (d. Haymo of Faversham was an English Franciscan and schoolman born at Faversham, Kent and died at Anagni, Italy, circa 1244), Alexander of Hales (d. Alexander Hales (also Halensis, Alensis, Halesius, Alesius; called Doctor Irrefragabilis and Theologorum Monarcha) was a 1245), John of Rupella (d. John of la Rochelle ( Jean de La Rochelle, John of Rupella, Johannes de Rupella) was a French Franciscan theologian. 1245), William of Melitona (d. 1260), St. Bonaventure (d. Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (San Bonaventura (1221 &ndash July 15, 1274) born John of Fidanza (Giovanni di Fidanza was the eighth Minister 1274), Cardinal Matthew of Aquasparta (d. A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. Matthew of Aquasparta (c 1235 - 29 October[[ 302]] was an Italian Franciscan and Scholastic philosopher. 1289), John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. John Peckham or Pecham (circa 1230&ndash8 December 1292 was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279&ndash1292 1292), Richard of Middletown (d. Richard of Middleton (c 1249 &ndash 1302 Medieval Latin: Richardus de Mediavilla) was a member of the Franciscan Order, a theologian, and about 1300), etc. , 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 his name, "dunce" (which developed from the name "Dunse" given to his followers in the 1500s) to become synonymous for "somebody who is incapable of scholarship", as is expressed for example in the (now defunct) use of the "dunce cap" to punish pupils who behave badly in class. A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce's cap, or dunce's hat, is a Pointy hat. Scholarly method &mdash or as it is more commonly called scholarship &mdash is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce's cap, or dunce's hat, is a Pointy hat.

Metaphysics

Realism

Scotus is generally considered to be a realist (as opposed to a nominalist) in that he treated universals as real. Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief in a Reality that is completely Ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes linguistic practices beliefs Nominalism is a metaphysical view in Philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist but that either universals He attacks a position close to that later defended by Ockham, arguing that things have a common nature - for example the humanity common to both Socrates and Plato.

Univocity of Being

He followed Aristotle in asserting that the subject matter of metaphysics is "being qua being" (ens inquantum ens). Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Being in general (ens in communi), as an univocal notion, was for him the first object of the intellect. Metaphysics includes the study of the transcendentals, so called because they transcend the division of being into finite and infinite and the further division of finite being into the ten Aristotelian categories. Being itself is a transcendental, and so are the "attributes" of being — "one", "true", and "good" — which are coextensive with being, but which each add something to it.

The doctrine of the univocity of being implies the denial of any real distinction between essence and existence. In Philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is and which it has by necessity In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with Aquinas 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. We can conceive of what it is to be something, without conceiving it as existing. Scotus denied this. 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. [2]

Categories

The study of the Aristotelian categories belongs to metaphysics insofar as the categories, or the things falling under them, are studied as beings. (If they are studied as concepts, they belong instead to the logician. ) There are exactly ten categories, according to orthodox Aristotelianism. The first and most important is the category of substance. Substance theory, or substance attribute theory, is an ontological theory about objecthood, positing that a substance is distinct from its Substances are beings in a primary sense, since they have an independent existence (entia per se). Beings in any of the other nine categories, called accidents, exist in substances. The philosophical term accident has been employed throughout the history of philosophy with several distinct meanings The nine categories of accidents are quantity, quality, relation, action, passion, place, time, position, and state (or habitus).

Individuation

Duns elaborates a distinct view on hylomorphism, with three important strong theses that differentiate him. Hylomorphism ( Greek hylo-, "wood matter" + -morphism morphē, "form" is the philosophical theory He held: 1) that there exists matter that has no form whatsoever, or prime matter, as the stuff underlying all change, against Aquinas (cf. Matter is commonly defined as being anything that has mass and that takes up space. 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. Individuation (Latin principium individuationis) is a concept which appears in numerous fields and may be encountered in work by Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler 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 (natura communis), feature existing in any number of individuals. Haecceity (from the Latin haecceitas, which translates as "thisness" is a term from Medieval philosophy first coined by Duns Scotus Nature is a word used in two major ways in philosophical discussion which are inter-connected in a complex way 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. Henry of Ghent (c 1217 – 1293 scholastic Philosopher, known as Doctor Solemnis (the Solemn Doctor also known as Henricus de Gandavo Scotus argued for an formal distinction (distinctio formalis a parte rei), which holds between entities which are inseparable and indistinct in reality, but whose definitions are not identical. In scholastic Metaphysics, a formal distinction is a distinction intermediate between what is merely conceptual and what is fully real or mind-independent For example, the personal properties of the Trinity are formally distinct from the Divine essence. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных Similarly, the distinction between the 'thisness' or haecceity of a thing is intermediate between a real and a conceptual distinction[3]. There is also a formal distinction between the divine attributes and the powers of the soul.

Theology

Voluntarism

Scotus was an Augustinian theologian. He is usually associated with voluntarism, the tendency to emphasize God's will and human freedom in all philosophical issues. Voluntarism can refer to Voluntarism (action, the use of or reliance on voluntary action to maintain an institution carry out a policy or achieve an end The main difference between Aquinas' rational theology and that of Scotus' is that Scotus believes 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' analogy doctrine.

Existence of God

The existence of God can be proven only a posteriori, through its effects. The Causal Argument he gives for the existence of God is particularly interesting and precise. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. It says that an infinity of things that are essentially ordered is impossible, as the totality of caused things that are essentially caused is itself caused, and so it is caused by some cause which is not a part of the totality, for then it would be the cause of itself; for the whole totality of dependent things is dependent, and not on anything belonging to that totality. The argument is relevant for Scotus' conception of metaphysical inquiry into being by searching the ways into which beings relate to each other.

Immaculate Conception

Perhaps the most influential point of Duns Scotus' theology was his defense of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. For dogmatic context see Roman Catholic Mariology. For artistic depictions see Roman Catholic Marian art. This ecumenical article is about general Christian views on and veneration of the Virgin Mary At the time, there was a great deal of argument about the subject. The general opinion was that it was appropriate, but it could not be seen how to resolve the problem that only with Christ's death would the stain of original sin be removed. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Original sin is according to a doctrine in Catholic theology, humanity's state of Sin resulting from the Fall of Man. The great philosophers and theologians of the West were divided on the subject (indeed, it appears that even Thomas Aquinas sided with those who denied the doctrine, though some Thomists dispute this). Thomism is the philosophical school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas. The feast day had existed in the East since the seventh century and had been introduced in several dioceses in the West as well, even though the philosophical basis was lacking. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the Roman Catholic Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Citing Anselm of Canterbury's principle, "potuit, decuit, ergo fecit" (God could 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. Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 &ndash April 21, 1109) was an Italian medieval Philosopher, theologian, and church official God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Crucifixion (from Latin crucifixio, noun of process crucifixio, from perfect passive participle crucifixus, fixed to a cross from 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. Whatever of these was more excellent should probably be attributed to Mary [4]. 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, Roman Catholic convert and

This argument appears in Pope Pius IX's declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Blessed Pope Pius IX (May 13 1792 &ndash February 7 1878 born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was Pope from June 16 1846 until 1878 Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas, Greek, plural) is the established Belief or Pope John XXIII recommended the reading of Duns Scotus' theology to modern theology students. Pope John (numberingBlessed

Logic

The authenticity of Scotus' logical works has been questioned. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Some of the logical and metaphysical works originally attributed to him are now known to be by other authors. There were already concerns about this within two centuries of his death, when the sixteenth-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 [5]. Jacob Naveros (fl ca 1533 was an early sixteenth century logician who is now known only for his concern about the attribution of the logical works of Duns Scotus. The Questions on the Prior Analytics (In Librum Priorum Analyticorum Aristotelis Quaestiones) were also discovered to be mistakenly attributed [6].

Modern editors have identified only four works as authentic: the commentaries on Porphyry's Isagoge, on Aristotle's Categories, On Interpretation (in two different versions), and on Sophistical Refutations, probably written in that order. The Isagoge or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius Categories ( Lat Categoriae, Greek Κατηγορίαι Katēgoriai) is a text from Aristotle 's Organon that Aristotle 's De Interpretatione (the Latin title by which it is usually known or On Interpretation ( Greek Περὶ Ἑρμηνείας On Sophistical Refutations (or "De Sophisticis Elenchis" is a text in Aristotle 's Organon. These are called the parva logicalia. These are dated at around 1295, when Scotus would have been in his late twenties, working in Oxford.

See also

Bibliography

Editions:

English translations:

References

Notes

  1. ^ Frank & Wollter p. 5
  2. ^ Opus Oxoniense I iii 1-2, quoted in Grenz p. 55
  3. ^ Honderich p. 209
  4. ^ Ordinatio III, d. 3, q. 1
  5. ^ Ashworth 1987
  6. ^ R. P. E. Longpre

External links



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