1. Island Of Freedom - John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus. c. 12661308. Duns Scotus Page. A Treatise on God as First Principle. John Duns Scotus, Scottish theologian and philosopher, was founder of a school of Scholasticism known as Scotism. http://www.island-of-freedom.com/SCOTUS.HTM

John Duns Scotus c. 1266-1308 Duns Scotus Page A Treatise on God as First Principle John Duns Scotus, Scottish theologian and philosopher, was founder of a school of Scholasticism known as Scotism. Born in Duns, Duns Scotus entered the Franciscan order and studied at the universities of Oxford and Paris. He later lectured at both universities on the Sentences , the basic theological textbook by the Italian theologian Peter Lombard. In 1303 he was exiled from Paris for refusing to support Philip IV, king of France, in his quarrel with Pope Boniface VIII over the taxation of church property. After a brief exile Scotus returned to Paris, and he lectured there until 1307. Toward the end of that year he was sent to Cologne, where he lectured until his death on November 8, 1308, in Cologne. His most important writings are two sets of Commentaries on the Sentences and the treatises Quodlibetic Questions Questions on Metaphysics , and On the First Principle . Scotus combined the Aristotelian theory of knowledge directed to the nature of physical objects as achievable by the abstractive power of the intellect with the Franciscan view of the soul as a substance in its own right with powers of intellection not confined to sensible reality. This subtle mingling of divergent tendencies and his skillful method of analysis, especially in his defense of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, earned him the title of Doctor Subtilis (Latin, "the Subtle Doctor"). Thomas Aquinas . Whereas Aquinas defined theology as primarily a speculative discipline, Duns Scotus saw theology as primarily a practical science, concerned with theoretical issues only insofar as they are ordered toward the goal of saving souls through revelation. He argued that through faith a person may know with absolute certainty that the human soul is incorruptible and immortal; reason plausibly may argue the existence of such qualities of the soul, but it cannot strictly prove that they exist.

2. Patron Saints Index: Blessed John Duns Scotus JOHN DUNS SCOTUS. Also known as The Subtle Doctor; Joannes Scotus; Doctor Subtilis Memorial 7 November Profile Son of a wealthy farmer. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj55.htm

JOHN DUNS SCOTUS Also known as The Subtle Doctor; Joannes Scotus; Doctor Subtilis Memorial 7 November Profile Son of a wealthy farmer . Friar Minor at Dumfries where his uncle Elias Duns was superior. Studied at Oxford and Paris Ordained 17 March at Saint Andrew's Church, Northampton at age 25. Lectured at Oxford and Cambridge from to when he returned to Paris to teach and complete his doctorate. John pointed out the richness of the Augustinian Franciscan tradition, appreciated the wisdom of Aquinas, Aristotle and the Muslim philosophers, and still managed to be an independent thinker. His ideas led to the founding of a school of Scholastic thought called Scotism. In when King Philip the Fair tried to enlist the University of Paris on his side in a dispute with Pope Boniface VIII over the taxation of Church property, but John dissented and was given three days to leave France He returned to Paris in , and received his doctorate. He then taught there, and in so ably defended the Immaculate Conception of Mary that the university officially adopted his position. Drawing on this work

3. John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus. Life. Philosophy. Work. Life. In 1265 John Scotus was born in Duns, Berkwickshire, Scotland. He was named after St. John the Evangelist and adopted his middle name from the town of http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jkurynny/sco.htm

John Duns Scotus Life Philosophy Work Life In 1265 John Scotus was born in Duns, Berkwickshire, Scotland. He was named after St. John the Evangelist and adopted his middle name from the town of his birth. He was raised in a Christian family, frequenting the Abbey of Melrose for catechism. As a child, he suffered a learning disability, which was apparently healed by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary answering John's prayers. In 1280 he earned his noviciat (see Bonaventure) for the Order of the Friars Minor (Franciscans) at Dumfries, Scotland. In 1291, he was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Lincoln, England. It was following his ordination that he spent a great deal of time developing his philosophical background first a Cambridge and then at Oxford. He remained there until 1302, where he lectured on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. In 1303 he was banished from France because he objected to and appeal by King Philip IV to oppose Pope Boniface VIII. The banishment was soon reversed, however, and he was allowed to return. He became a master of Theology in 1305 and lectured in Paris until his relocation to Cologne, Germany in 1307. Late in his career, his lectures were attended by large numbers of students. He was referred to as the "Subtle Doctor" and the "Marian Doctor" by his most esteemed colleagues. In 1308 John Duns Scotus died in Cologne.

4. John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus. 1266 1308 AD. John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan friar, was one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Middle Ages. http://www.womenpriests.org/theology/scotus2.htm

John Duns Scotus 1266 - 1308 AD John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan friar, was one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Middle Ages. He lectured at Cambridge, Oxford and Paris. In the post-scholastic age (16th - 18th centuries) his followers among Catholic theologians outnumbered those following St. Thomas Aquinas. Duns Scoti Opera Omnia For Latin original, click here! Translated especially for womenpriests.org from the original Latin by Dr. Mary Ann Rossi credits Paragraph numbering by John Wijngaards, for easy reference Book IV, Distinctio XXV. Question II. Whether the female sex or a youthful age should impede the taking of Orders. Reasons why not [= why the female sex or youth should not impede]. First negative argument. In Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, slave nor free And in the same place it is said that it is mainly Christ who ordains; therefore, etc. Next, other sacraments do not discriminate, so that each sex can truly receive them. It is clear by this logically that all [sacraments] can be equally administered to women as well as to men. Second negative argument.

5. John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus. Metaphysics and Ethics. Of realty the rarestveined unraveler , John Duns Scotus was one of the profoundest metaphysicians who ever lived. http://www.brill.nl/product.asp?ID=2711

6. John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus Èîàíí Äóíñ Ñêîò (12661308 ãã.). ÁÈÁËÈÎÐÀÔÈß. Òåêñòû. Duns Scotus,John (1975) Philosophical Writings. http://antology.rchgi.spb.ru/Joh_Duns_Scotus/_biblio.rus.html

John Duns Scotus Duns Scotus I. Philosophical writings. London, 1962. Jean Duns Scot. Opera omnia. ed.Wadding 12 vol., Lyon, 1639 (reimprimee a Paris, Vives, 1891-1895). Jean Duns Scot. Editions partielles: Opus oxoniense, Livres I et II, 2 vol. Quarachi, 1912 et 1914. Jean Duns Scot. Tractatus de primo principio. Quarachi, 1910 (le De rerum principio, egalement imprime dans ce volume, n'est pas de Duns Scot). Patr. Mignes, O.F.M., J.D. Scoti doctrina philosophica et theologica quoad res praecipuas proposita. Quarachi, 2 vol., 1908 (ters utile). Bettoni. Vent' anni di studi scotisti. Milano, 1943. Boyvin Ioannes Gabriele. Philosophia Scoti a prolixitate, et sub- tilitas eius ab abscuritate libera et vindicata. Paris. Baro, Bonaventura. Iohann Duns Scot per universal Philosophiam, logicam, physicam, metaphysicam,ethicam contra adversanres defensus. 1664. Faber Philippe. Philosophia naturalis Iohann Duns Scot ex quatuor libris sententiarum et quodlibetis collecta. Paris, 1922.

7. Philosophical Writings: A Selection Scotus John Duns Title Philosophical Writings A Selection duns scotus john Scotus John Duns Subject Metaphysics ontology Category Society Politics Philosophy Philosophy http://www.isbengineering.co.uk/Scotus-John-Duns-Philosophical-Writings-A-975-92

Philosophical Writings: A Selection Scotus John Duns Author or Artist : Scotus John Duns Title: Philosophical Writings: A Selection Duns Scotus John Scotus John Duns Subject: Metaphysics ontology Category: Society Politics Philosophy Philosophy Topics Metaphysics Format: Paperback John Stuart Mill-The Subjection of Women... Hegel-Introduction to the Philosophy of History... Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Philosophical Essays... Freiherr von Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Roger Ariew Daniel Garber-Philosophical Essays... ... Thomas R. Peltier-Information Security Risk Analysis...

8. Overview Of John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus (The Subtle Doctor) c.1265 1308. Philosopher and theologian. Scotus was most-likely born in Duns, Berwickshire http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst199.html

Gazetteer for Scotland Help ... Add Comment John Duns Scotus (The Subtle Doctor) c.1265 - 1308 Philosopher and theologian. Scotus was most-likely born in Duns, Berwickshire, probably began his education at Melrose Abbey and certainly studied at Balliol College, Oxford. He taught there and in Paris and Cologne. An intelligent philosopher, he developed a school of thought which became known as Scotism which dominated the teaching of Roman Catholic theology across Europe until the 18th C. He was renown for his scepticism, which led to the word " Dunses " or " Dunces " being used to describe those who were regarded as not being very clever. Despite this misrepresentation Scotus had considerable influence on the Roman Catholic church and, in 1991, the Vatican elevated Scotus to the status of "venerable", the first step on the route to Saint-hood. He was beatified in 1993 by Pope John Paul II. If you have found this information useful please consider making a small donation to help maintain and improve this site. Supported by: The Robertson Trust,

9. John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus, 1266? 1308. John Duns Scotus was a Scottish theologian and philosopher whose views on faith and reason impacted http://www.alcott.net/alcott/home/champions/Scotus.html

John Duns Scotus, 1266? - 1308 John Duns Scotus was a Scottish theologian and philosopher whose views on faith and reason impacted New England Transcendentalists such as Theodore Parker . Duns Scotus held that in order to know the truth in all its fullness and to fulfill one's eternal destiny, a person must not only make use of the insights afforded by natural knowledge or philosophy but must also be taught by divine revelation. His views differed sharply from those of his forerunner, Thomas Aquinas, in that Scotus believed that a direct, intuitive grasp of particular things can be obtained both through the intellect and through the senses. Like Girolamo Savonarola he believed in the supremacy of the moral sentiment, but without Savonarola's fanaticism.

10. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Blessed John Duns Scotus Home Catholic Encyclopedia D Bl. john duns scotus. Bl. john duns scotus. Surnamed DOCTOR SUBTILIS, died 8 November, 1308; he http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05194a.htm

Home Encyclopedia Summa Fathers ... D > Bl. John Duns Scotus A B C D ... Z Bl. John Duns Scotus Surnamed DOCTOR SUBTILIS, died 8 November, 1308; he was the founder and leader of the famous Scotist School This discussion has been strongly tinged with national sentiment, especially since the beginning of the sixteenth century after prominent Irish Franciscans like Mauritius de Portu (O'Fihely), Hugh MacCaghwell, and Luke Wadding rendered great service by editing Scotus's works. On the other hand, the English have some right to claim Scotus; as a professor for several years at Oxford, he belonged at any rate to the English province; and neither during his lifetime nor for some time after his death was any other view as to his nationality proposed. It should not, however, be forgotten that in those days the Franciscan cloisters in Scotland were affiliated to the English province, i.e. to the custodia of Newcastle. It would not therefore be amiss to regard Scotus as a native of Scotland or as a member of a Scottish cloister. In any case it is high time to eliminate from this discussion the famous entry in the Merton College MS. (no. 39) which would make it appear that Scotus was a member of that college and therefore a native of Northern England. The statutes of the college excluded monks; and as Scotus became a Franciscan when he was quite younger he could not have belonged to the college previous to joining the order. Besides, the entry in the college register is under the date of 1455, and consequently too late to serve as an argument.

11. John Duns Scotus john duns scotus. john duns scotus (1265/661308) was one of the most important and influential philosopher out what is known about scotus's life and the dating of his http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/duns-scotus

version history HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy A B C D ... Z This document uses XHTML-1/Unicode to format the display. Older browsers and/or operating systems may not display the formatting correctly. last substantive content change AUG John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus (1265/66-1308) was one of the most important and influential philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages. His brilliantly complex and nuanced thought, which earned him the nickname "the Subtle Doctor," left a mark on discussions of such disparate topics as the semantics of religious language, the problem of universals, divine illumination, and the nature of human freedom. This essay first lays out what is known about Scotus's life and the dating of his works. It then offers an overview of some of his key positions in four main areas of philosophy: natural theology, metaphysics, the theory of knowledge, and ethics and moral psychology. 1. Life and Works 2. Natural Theology 3. Metaphysics 4. Theory of Knowledge ... Related Entries 1. Life and Works 1.1 The life of John Duns the Scot

12. Duns Scotus, John. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001 2001. duns scotus, john. (d nz sk ´t s) (KEY) Lat. scotus=Irishman or Scot, c.1266–1308, scholastic philosopher and theologian, called the Subtle Doctor. http://www.bartleby.com/65/du/DunsScot.html

Select Search All Bartleby.com All Reference Columbia Encyclopedia World History Encyclopedia Cultural Literacy World Factbook Columbia Gazetteer American Heritage Coll. Dictionary Roget's Thesauri Roget's II: Thesaurus Roget's Int'l Thesaurus Quotations Bartlett's Quotations Columbia Quotations Simpson's Quotations Respectfully Quoted English Usage Modern Usage American English Fowler's King's English Strunk's Style Mencken's Language Cambridge History The King James Bible Oxford Shakespeare Gray's Anatomy Farmer's Cookbook Post's Etiquette Bulfinch's Mythology Frazer's Golden Bough All Verse Anthologies Dickinson, E. Eliot, T.S. Frost, R. Hopkins, G.M. Keats, J. Lawrence, D.H. Masters, E.L. Sandburg, C. Sassoon, S. Whitman, W. Wordsworth, W. Yeats, W.B. All Nonfiction Harvard Classics American Essays Einstein's Relativity Grant, U.S. Roosevelt, T. Wells's History Presidential Inaugurals All Fiction Shelf of Fiction Ghost Stories Short Stories Shaw, G.B. Stein, G. Stevenson, R.L. Wells, H.G. Reference Columbia Encyclopedia PREVIOUS NEXT ... BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Duns Scotus, John

13. John Duns Scotus At Erratic Impact's Philosophy Research Base john duns scotus at Erratic Impact's Philosophy Research Base. Resources include john duns scotus biographies, new and used books on scotus and more. Hildegard of Bingen. john duns scotus. john http://www.erraticimpact.com/~medieval/html/john_duns_scotus.htm

Medieval Index New Book Search Early Medieval High Medieval ... Hildegard of Bingen John Duns Scotus John of Salisbury John Scotus Eriugena Justin Martyr Meister Eckhart ... Duns Scotus (Great Medieval Thinkers) by Richard Cross John Duns Scotus ca. 1265 - 1308 Online Resources Texts: John Duns Scotus Used Books: John Duns Scotus Know of a Resource? ... Duns Scotus on the Will and Morality by John Duns Scotus , William A. Frank (Editor), Alan B. Wolter (Translator), Allan B. Wolter (Translator). Click here to learn more about this book John Duns Scotus Biography Excerpt: John Duns Scotus, Scottish theologian and philosopher, was founder of a school of Scholasticism known as Scotism. Born in Duns, Duns Scotus entered the Franciscan order and studied at the universities of Oxford and Paris. He later lectured at both universities on the Sentences , the basic theological textbook by the Italian theologian Peter Lombard. In 1303 he was exiled from Paris for refusing to support Philip IV, king of France, in his quarrel with Pope Boniface VIII over the taxation of church property. After a brief exile Scotus returned to Paris, and he lectured there until 1307. Toward the end of that year he was sent to Cologne, where he lectured until his death on November 8, 1308, in Cologne. His most important writings are two sets of

14. Bl. John Duns Scotus THE LIFE OF BLESSED john duns scotus. Defender of the Immaculate Conception Here you will find a brief biography of Bl. john duns scotus. Bl. http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/SCOTUS.htm

THE LIFE OF BLESSED JOHN DUNS SCOTUS Defender of the Immaculate Conception Here you will find a brief biography of Bl. John Duns Scotus, Franciscan Priest and Theologian of the Thirteenth Century. Next to St. Bonaventure, Bl. John is perhaps the most important and influential theologian in the history of the Franciscan Order. He was the founder of the Scotistic School in Theology, and until the time of the French Revolution his thought dominated the Roman Catholic faculties of theology in nearly all the major universities of Europe. He is chiefly known for his theology on the Absolute Kingship of Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his philosophic refutation of evolution. A Table of Contents: The Birth and Childhood of Bl. John Duns Scotus The Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Bl. John Bl. John's Accomplishments at the University of Oxford Bl. John's Defense of Mary's Immaculate Conception Bl. John's Death and Beatification The Birth and Childhood of Bl. John Duns Scotus Bl. John Duns Scotus was born in Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, around 1265. He was immediately baptized after birth and was named after St. John the Evangelist. He grew up a good boy, healthy and pure like a little angel. He received a solid Christian formation from home and from the parish priest. He frequented the Cistercian Abbey of Melrose for his catechism lessons. There, he absorbed the ardent love for the Mother of God which St. Bernard had left as a patrimony to the Cistercians.

15. Jacques Maritain Center: CE - Scotism Scotism and Scotists. I. Scotism. This is the name given to the philosophical and theological system or school named after john duns scotus . . . . It developed out of the Old Franciscan School, to http://www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/scotism.htm

Jacques Maritain Center Readings Scotism and Scotists I. Scotism. Doctor Subtilis , and found the ground already cleared for the conflict with the followers of Aquinas. He made indeed very free use of Aristoteleanism, much freer than his predecessors, but in its employment exercised sharp criticism, and in important points adhered to the teaching of the Older Franciscan School especially with regard to the plurality of forms or of souls, the spiritual matter of the angels and of souls, etc., wherein and in other points he combatted energetically St. Thomas. The Scotism beginning with him, or what is known as the Later Franciscan School, is thus only a continuation or further development of the older school, with a much wider, although not exclusive acceptance of Peripatetic ideas, or with the express and strict challenge of the same (e.g. the view that matter is the principium individuationis Concerning the character and teaching of Scotus we have already spoken in the special article quod anima rationalis . . . non sit forma corporis humani per se et essentialiter " (the rational soul is not per se and essentially the form of the human body), was directed, not against the Scotist doctrine of the

16. Duns Scotus, John. The American Heritage® Dictionary Of The English Language: F duns scotus, john. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language Fourth Edition. 2000. 2000. duns scotus, john. SYLLABICATION duns Sco·tus. http://www.bartleby.com/61/72/D0427200.html

Select Search All Bartleby.com All Reference Columbia Encyclopedia World History Encyclopedia Cultural Literacy World Factbook Columbia Gazetteer American Heritage Coll. Dictionary Roget's Thesauri Roget's II: Thesaurus Roget's Int'l Thesaurus Quotations Bartlett's Quotations Columbia Quotations Simpson's Quotations Respectfully Quoted English Usage Modern Usage American English Fowler's King's English Strunk's Style Mencken's Language Cambridge History The King James Bible Oxford Shakespeare Gray's Anatomy Farmer's Cookbook Post's Etiquette Bulfinch's Mythology Frazer's Golden Bough All Verse Anthologies Dickinson, E. Eliot, T.S. Frost, R. Hopkins, G.M. Keats, J. Lawrence, D.H. Masters, E.L. Sandburg, C. Sassoon, S. Whitman, W. Wordsworth, W. Yeats, W.B. All Nonfiction Harvard Classics American Essays Einstein's Relativity Grant, U.S. Roosevelt, T. Wells's History Presidential Inaugurals All Fiction Shelf of Fiction Ghost Stories Short Stories Shaw, G.B. Stein, G. Stevenson, R.L. Wells, H.G. Reference American Heritage Dictionary dunnage ... BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.

17. The Gallery: Scholastic Superstars - Christian History - ChristianityTodayLibrar Profiles of Peter Lombard, john duns scotus, Albert the Great, and Bonaventure. Written for a popular audience. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2002/001/4.33.html

Site Search: Home CT Mag Church/Ministry Bible/Life ... Help Member Login: E-mail: Password: Not a member? Join now Explore Christian History Early Church The American Experience World Christianity ... This Week in CH Explore CTLibrary Home Search Browse by Topic Browse by Publication ... Pricing Member Services My Account Our Policies Contact Us Related Sites ChristianityToday.com Christian Sites Church Sites Sermon Illustrations Search Library: FREE ARTICLE PREVIEW ARTICLE TOOLS Find similar articles Toggle highlighting Gallery: Scholastic Superstars The white heat produced by these great minds lit up the High Middle Ages. by Stephen E. Lahey MR. MIDDLE GROUND Peter Lombard c. 1100-1160 Peter Lombard's birthplace, the Piedmontese town of Novara, lies at a strategic crossroads between Turin, Milan, Genoa, and Switzerland. When Peter found himself at the crossroads of competing approaches to theology, he again chose the middle ground. Peter Lombard responded to this clash by writing a textbook characterized by its rigorous approach to the whole spectrum of theological knowledge. This text, called Sentences, would become the template for formal theological discourse well into the Modern period. The first book, on the unity of God and the nature of the Trinity, is followed by books devoted to created beings and their corporeal and spiritual natures, the Incarnation and Christ's rescue of humanity, and the sacraments and the four last things (death, judgment, ...

18. The Philosophy Of John Duns Scotus The Philosophy of john duns scotus john duns scotus (picture) was born in Scotland, probably in the village of Maxton (now Littledean), in 1265 or 1266. http://radicalacademy.com/philscotus.htm

Classic Philosophers The Great Thinkers of Western Philosophy Academy Resources Glossary of Philosophical Terms Philosophy Search Engine Timeline of Philosophy A Timeline of American Philosophy ... Books about Religion in The Radical Academy Bookstore Shop Amazon Stores in the Radical Academy Bookstore Magazine Outlet Music Store Video Store ... Baby Superstore The Philosophy of John Duns Scotus 1265 or 66-1308 "The Subtle Doctor" TABLE OF CONTENTS I. II. III. IV. ... Ethics I. Life and Works John Duns Scotus ( picture ) was born in Scotland, probably in the village of Maxton (now Littledean), in 1265 or 1266. While very young, he entered the Franciscan Order. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1291, he was sent to Paris to study at the famous university there, and on his return to England he taught at Oxford. In 1303, as a student at the University of Paris, he wrote his commentary on the Book of Sentences . He returned to Oxford but by 1304 was teaching in Paris. Here he propounded his celebrated thesis on the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. In 1308 Scotus was in Cologne as lector in the Franciscan Scholasticate, and there on the eighth of November of the same year he died.

19. Reason And Faith For St. Thomas Aquinas And Bl. John Duns Scotus Short paper on the question of faith and reason, with notes. By Sule Elkatip. In plain text. http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/augustine/sule

REASON AND FAITH FOR SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS AND BLESSED JOHN DUNS SCOTUS January 7, 1994 by Sule Elkatip (Istanbul) (I) The problem The question of faith and reason is thought in many cases to be a problem of consistency among the dictates of reason and those of faith and is formulated in terms of the reliability of the many ways of justifying true belief. Thus the qualm `Which is more reliable?' may change into a doubt and eventually it is asked whether faith justifies knowledge: Another type of claim to knowledge ... is faith. The same difficulty that plagued the claims to knowledge by intuition and revelation occurs here ... Thus sense experience and reasoning, not faith, are the basis for the claim of reliability ... Indeed, it seems too obvious to mention that when people appeal solely to faith as a way of knowing, they do so because there is no evidence that what they say is true ... 1 The above explanation taken from the finale of a section discussing the sources of knowledge in a somehow outdated textbook of philosophical analysis written in our century is not in essence very far removed from the debates which had taken place among medieval philosophers after the twelve hundreds. The former may be more straigtforward in rejecting faith as knowledge. But the latter too must have comprised strong arguments against the reliability of faith. Scotus formulates several of these arguments, which reject the reliability of faith after a cursory examination, in the first question of the Prologus to the Ordinatio.2 In the course of ScotusÙ evaluation of the controversy for and against the reliability of faith not only do we discover the familiar qualms about faith in comparison to sense-experience and the employment of reason, but also we learn about the two distinct manners in which Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus were teaching in favor of faith. The first question of Scotus' prologue to the Ordinatio develops the issue of faith from various perspectives. There are two questions which concern us. The first question is about the reliability of faith in the eyes of Scotus and Thomas. The other question is about the difference, if any, between their thoughts on faith and reason. As to the first question, it is quite clear that both doctors proclaim the reliability of faith. As to the second question, the answer is that there are differences between the two teachings. Scotus states that there can not be conclusive arguments in philosophy pro the reliability of faith; all that can be done is to use persuasive arguments from faith and at the same time to keep making the effort of showing with strictly philosophical reasoning that the arguments of the philosophers for the reliability of the intellect, the senses or some other source is not as foolproof as one would like to have them. (n. 12, nn. 66-71). Aquinas on the one hand holds that faith is reliable, but on the other hand he maintains an Aristotelian theory of knowledge. All knowledge is derived from the senses. The human intellect can not operate without phantasms or sensory data. And yet, the human intellect is not dependent on a corporeal organ for its proper operations and the human soul is incorruptible. There is one human soul for each human person and that soul is the form or act of the human body. It is the business of the intellect to know natures and essences in their common or absoluteley considered natures. But still, a knowledge both of itself and of particular things is possible for the human intellect. The final cause for mankind is salvation and felicity in beholding God. It will be presented below that Aquinas leaves an allowance for philosophers who interpret Aristotelian philosophy as a philosophy devoid of sympathy for faith. He suggests that the end of man may also be known solely in philosophy without recourse to faith. (II) The views of the two doctors In the critical edition of the Ordinatio St. Thomas is cited by the editors in the footnotes to the text. In the controversy between the philosophers and the theologians, philosophers put forward three important arguments. Philosophers uphold the perfection of nature. Theologians recognize the necessity of divine grace and perfection. The Saint is mentioned in relation to the second argument of the philosophers in connection with Aristotle who divides the speculative sciences into mathematics, physics and metaphysics. It seems that Aristotle proves the impossibility of there being more speculative sciences because - in those three, both as it is in itself and in asmuch as it is in every part, the whole of being is thoroughly taken into account; by a similar argument there can not be more practical sciences than those acquired by mankind. (n. 8) St. Thomas is also mentioned in relation to a certain argument, again from the side of the philosophers, against the need for faith. The argument again takes off from Aristotle: `Nature never leaves out what is necessary'; if it is not deficient in imperfect faculties, i.e., the senses, much less will it be deficient in the intellect. (n. 2) In other words, if supernatural aid is not needed by the senses for apprehending their objects, neither will it be needed for the intellect which is a more perfect faculty. However, St. Thomas Aquinas acknowledges the necessity and hence the reliability of sacred doctrine in his Summa Theologica. `Whether, besides the philosophical disciplines, any further doctrine is required?' he asks, and his reply is in the affirmative: `It was necessary for man's salvation that there should be a doctrine revealed by God, besides the philosophical disciplines investigated by human reason ... because man is directed to God as to an end that surpasses the grasp of his reason'.3 Consequently, it becomes to a certain extent difficult to locate the similarities and differences between Aquinas and Scotus. They both seem to be inclined alike for the necessity and therefore the reliability of faith as knowledge. The prologue of the Ordinatio determines two positions: in the beginning that of St. Thomas and later the position of St. Augustine. But with neither of them does Scotus agree totally. Although he must have had St. Thomas in mind at least with respect to some philosophers and theologians, he must be credited with fairness to Aquinas. It is with an allusion to the works of St. Thomas that Scotus' triple argument in defense of the necessity and therefore reliability of faith sets out: distinct knowledge of his end through cognition is necessary for every agent. (n. 13) Furthermore, in his replies to the arguments of the philosophers Scotus makes an explicit reference to St. Thomas by citing him by name; moreover, he quotes from the aforementioned very first article of the Summa. (n. 79) With three principal considerations Scotus sets forth the view that divine revelation is necessary and that scientific knowledge derived just through sense-experience and reason is not sufficient. A human being is a rational agent and as such requires a Adistinct knowledge of his end. (nn. 13-15) Even if reason suffices to prove that beholding God is the end of man, it could not conclude that such a vision and enjoyment perpetually becomes and agrees with a human being perfect both in body and in soul. Scotus is of the opinion that the perpetuity of a good of this kind is the very condition that makes this end desirable. (n. 16) On a declaration of the immortality of the human soul - `The intellective soul is incorruptible' - Scotus reasons that it can not be proved: It can be stated that although there are probable reasons for this second proposition, these are not demonstrative, nor for that matter are they ever necessary reasons.4 Starting from a framework in which natural agents desire the end on account of which they operate, the first persuasive argument considers this to be necessary also for a knowing agent. Scotus points out that human beings can not know their end distinctly from natural sources. He utilizes passages of Nicomachean Ethics to demonstrate that even the Philosopher himself was not very clear on this topic. (n. 14) We can show something from the behavior manifest to us of a substance and that something would just be - that such an end may agree with such a nature. The proper end of no substance is cognized by us. We do not experience or cognize any acts to belong to us in this life so that through them we may naturally know some special end to agree with our nature. (n. 15) Scotus' second persuasive argument is as follows: `It is necessary for every conscious agent in pursuit of an end to know by what means and in what way such an end may be attained; and also the knowledge of all things which are necessary to that end is necessary; and thirdly the knowledge that all that suffices for such an end is necessary'. (n. 17) And in his third and last persuasive argument Scotus enjoins that if the enjoyment of God is in itself manÙs end, God acts contingently and we can not ascertain with the certainty of necessity that God does or does not accept merits as worthy of such a reward. (n. 18) (III) Conclusion One student of Scotus has explained the situation with respect to Scotus and Aquinas in the following way: we do not know our nature in that aspect which would enable us to deduce its spiritual destiny from the nature. Though by the light of nature we may know that man is a spiritual being or even accept St. Thomas' proof that he needs grace, yet we can not infer from man's nature the promises of the Gospel (Duns might say rather, `the contingent will of God'), and therefore, since the Gospel is the mending or fulfilment of Creation, we can not from our knowledge of man's nature infer that final end which depends upon the Gospel.5 It is evident from the prologue that the conclusion above about St. Thomas and Duns Scotus follows from their respective thoughts on faith. Scotus quotes from St. Augustine to back up the criticism of his own standpoint that although man can naturally know of his natural end, indeed he can not know about his supernatural end: `the possibility of having faith like the possibility of having charity belongs to human nature, but the actual possession of faith like the actual possession of charity pertains to the grace vouchsafed to the faithful'.6 Scotus concedes to St. Augustine that God is the natural end of human beings. The part he will not allow is that God naturally may be attained: the possibility of having charity as it is a disposition with respect to God in Himself under the proper notion of loving agrees with human nature according to a special notion, which is not common to it and to sensibles; and hence, that potentiality of human beings is not naturally recognizable in this life, just as man is not known under the notion by which his potentiality is his own. (n. 32) Scotus' explicit quotation from the Summa of Aquinas clarifies the difference between their teachings. Aquinas says that `there is no reason why those things which are treated by the philosophical disciplines, so far as they can be known by the light of natural reason, may not also be treated by another science so far as they are known by the light of the divine revelation'.7 He thus in this manner implies that sacred doctrine by way of the divine revelation is not absolutely necessary. In fact St. Thomas Aquinas says in the same article of the Summa the following: `in order that the salvation of men might be brought about more fitly and more surely, it was necessary that they be taught divine truths by divine revelation'.8 It is a question of more or less fitness and certainty and hence the logical consequence is that sacred doctrine may not be as good and reliable as reason based on sense-experience; the reliability of faith as a justification of true belief may be doubted. NOTES 1John Hospers, An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis , 2nd ed. (1967; rpt. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1970) p. 140. 2John Duns Scotus, Ordinatio Prologus, Opera Omnia I (Civitas Vaticana: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1950). 3Summa Theologica , p. I ch. 1 q. 1. 4Allan Wolter, O.F.M., trans., Philosophical Writings: A Selection, The Nelson Philosophical Texts, ed. Raymond Klibansky, The Library of Liberal Arts (1962; rpt. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing, 1978) pp. 146-147. 5Nathaniel Micklem, Reason and Revelation: a question from Duns Scotus (Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1953) p. 18. 6Ibid. , p. 17; n. 22. 7Anton C. Pegis, ed., Basic Writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas (2 vols., New York: Random House, 1945) p. 6; p. I ch. 1 q. 1. 8Ibid.

20. John Duns Scotus A TREATISE ON GOD AS FIRST PRINCIPLE. john duns scotus. 1.1 May the First Principle of things grant me to believe, to understand and http://www.ewtn.com/library/THEOLOGY/GODASFIR.HTM

A TREATISE ON GOD AS FIRST PRINCIPLE John Duns Scotus 1.1 May the First Principle of things grant me to believe, to understand and to reveal what may please his majesty and may raise our minds to contemplate him. 1.2 O Lord our God, true teacher that you are, when Moses your servant asked you for your name that he might proclaim it to the children of Israel, you, knowing what the mind of mortals could grasp of you, replied: "I am who am," thus disclosing your blessed name. You are truly what it means to be, you are the whole of what it means to exist. This, if it be possible for me, I should like to know by way of demonstration. Help me then, O Lord, as I investigate how much our natural reason can learn about that true being which you are if we begin with the being which you have predicated of yourself. 1.3 Although being has many properties it would not be irrelevant to consider, it is to the more fruitful source of the essential order that I turn, proceeding according to the following plan. I shall set forth in this first chapter the four divisions of order. From this one can gather how many kinds of essential orders exist. 1.4 For a division to be clear it is necessary (1) that the members resulting from the division be indicated and thus be shown to be contained in what is divided, (2) that the mutually exclusive character of the parts be manifest, and (3) that the classification exhaust the subject matter to be divided. The first requirement will be met in this chapter; the others, in the second. With no attempt at justification, then, in the present chapter I shall simply enumerate the divisions and explain the meaning of the parts.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Page 1     1-20 of 82    1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | Next 20