Pope benedict xvi, scotus, the incarnation absolute. John duns scotus 12658 was a franciscan priest, theologian and professor at oxford university and the university of paris. Duns scotus believed that gods love for humanity was expressed through the incarnation of. The theology of john duns scotus, written by antonie vos in brill. Duns scotus in english translation xv introduction. The theology of john duns scotus, written by antonie vos in. Controversy between philosophers and theologians num. Christ is presented as the basis of all nature, grace and glory the most perfect model of humanity. This is an accessible introduction to the life and thought of john duns scotus c. Mar 11, 2019 with chapters on scotuss life and career, the triune god, jesus christ, creation, ethics, justification, predestination, and the sacraments, antonie voss the theology of john duns scotus is the first attempt at a truly comprehensive overview. It is wellknown that john duns scotus 12658 had a more voluntarist bent in his philosophy than did st. Duns scotus philosophical writings a selection edited and translated by allan wolter, o.
Perhaps god spun off this vast universe for the singular purpose of sharing life and love, intending all along to join its very substance. His is a theology which places christ at the centre of a universe ordered by love. Overview of the scotistic thesis on the primacy of christ. Professor of philosophy at the franciscan institute st bonaventure.
Overview the absolute primacy of christ july, 2012 fr. When one sticks to such a type of logic, semantics, or ontology, the theory of divine properties and the doctrine of the incarnation. The first step is to show that something among beings is in act which is unqualifiedly first according to efficiency. Whether it was necessary for man in this present state that some doctrine be supernaturally inspired. Four things you need to know about john duns scotus. Feb 16, 2011 duns scotus and his school suggested that incarnation was the underlying motive for creation, not merely a correction to it. 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.
Thomas aquinas is the standard representative of the former. The quality of the scholarship and philosophical content of voss latest book is excellent throughout. John duns scotus 1265668 was one of the most important and influential philosophertheologians of the high middle ages. A native of scotland as his name implies, scotus became a franciscan and. Download pdf mariologyofblessedjohndunsscotus free. Blessed john duns scotus, latin given name joannes, byname doctor subtilis, born c. Noel muscat ofm blessed john duns scotus 126566 8 th november 8, besides being known as the subtle doctor. Identity, incarnation and the not so subtle influence of john duns scotus. Heres an article on him and the incarnation duns scotus and the meaning of love by seamus mulholland ofm, and here below is a bit from an article from christianity today about duns. Vos, the philosophy of john duns scotus, edinburgh 2006 alexander broadie, professor of logic and rhetoric at the university of glasgow.
These are said to belong to the natural law in the strictest sense, and. Scotus, writing in light of the condemnation of 1277, in which the bishop of paris declared a number of aristotelian propositions to be heretical, was careful to stay in line with current church teaching. One of those mentioned in the above article was franciscan john duns scotus. The philosophy of john duns scotus provides a formidable yet comprehensive overview of the life and works of this scottishborn philosopher. His brilliantly complex and nuanced thought earned him the nickname the subtle doctor. Duns scotus believed that gods love for humankind was expressed first and foremost through the incarnation of jesus christ, the center and model of all creation, and that christ was so important to the plan of creation that god would have become incarnate in him whether adam. Jan 10, 2008 for duns scotus, the word becoming flesh as described in the prologue to john s gospel must surely represent the creators primary design, not some kind of afterthought or plan b. Incarnation in franciscan spirituality duns scotus and the. Proof of the existence of god university of kentucky. The word which summarises duns scotus theology is christocentric. John duns scotus, and gave special mention to scotus position which held that the incarnation is the summum opus dei, that is, the greatest and most beautiful work of the entire history of salvation, that it is not conditioned by any contingent fact.
This perhaps somewhat surprising thought crystallized because, in the opinion of duns scotus the incarnation of the son of god, planned from all eternity by god the father at the level of love is the fulfilment of creation and enables every creature, in christ and through christ. Incarnation in franciscan spirituality duns scotus and. At an early age he was received into the franciscan order. The life and works of john duns the scot 1 thomas williams 1 scotus on metaphysics 15 peter king 2 space and time 69 neil lewis 3 universals and individuation 100 timothy b. However, one thinker stands out in the history of medieval theology as an exception to the christological rule. As one might guess from the selection of topics, voss scotus is strongly ecumenical. A humble man, john duns scotus has been one of the most influential franciscans through the centuries. Duns the scot, was a scottish catholic priest and franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. This is a very complicated argument, with several main and subsidiary steps. But a complete edition, in 12 folio volumes, was published only in 1639 by wadding at lyons. It is disputed whether he first saw the light in ireland, scotland or england. The doctrine maintains that the divine and human natures of jesus do not exist beside one another in an unconnected way but rather are joined. He is at the beginning, the centre and the end of the universe. John duns scotus 1265668, a scottish franciscan friar, was one of the most important and influential philosophertheologians of the high middle ages.
Topics range from the franciscanscotistic motive of the incarnation, the scotistic position of sacramental theology, to intuition and certitude, scientific form and real assent, uncoupling scotus from kant, the will as the power to selfdetermine as. A celtic christology the incarnation ac cording to john scott us eriugena john f ciaviit alastair mcintosh is a visiting professor at glasgow university and a fellow at edinburghs school of divinity. His work is encyclopedic in scope, yet so detailed and nuanced that he earned the epithet subtle doctor, and no less a thinker than ockham would praise his judgment as excelling all others in its subtlety. With him, we enter a christocentric vision of salvation, considered independently of human sinfulness. Duns scotus s writings are very numerous and they have often been printed.
I have to like duns scotus, if only because radical orthodoxy so dislikes him. Peter king, in the cambridge companion to john duns scotus, edited by thomas williams, cambridge university press 2003, 1568. Born at duns in the county of berwick, scotland, john was descended from a wealthy farming family. Duns scotus, gods ability to keep forms in existence, and. Download mariologyofblessedjohndunsscotus ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub. The incarnation, then in duns scotus, becomes the unrepeatable, unique, and single defining act of gods love. The theology of john duns scotus philippe yates ofm the word which summarises duns scotus theology is christocentric. John duns scotus can be described as a franciscan theologian who provided the church with the christological basis for the doctrine on the immaculate conception of the virgin mary, in such a way that it could truly be seen as the result of divine revelation. I suggest that we look at scotus not so much for original and new answers to contemporary questions although there are certainly original insights in scotus, as i will note later, but rather for the manner in which scotus viewed all that exists.
The subtle doctor, of realty the rarestveined unraveller i. John duns scotus was born in 1274 according to some, according to others in 1266. The ordinatio of blessed john duns scotus prologue first part page 23 on the necessity of revealed doctrine single question. Vos has successfully combined his lifetime of dedicated study with the significant body of biographical literature, resulting in a unique look at the life and works of this philosopher theologian. Since that time it has been discarded in favor of a 16th and 17thcentury thomistic elaboration. Quotes edit as for the object of the science in this sense, we have indicated above that this science is about the transcendentals. Many know gerard manley hopkinss 184489 love of john duns scotus c. William of ockham is the standard representative of the latter. Incarnation, central christian doctrine that god became flesh, that god assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of jesus christ, the son of god and the second person of the trinity. Our understandings of how we are saved change from issues of justice to those of generosity.
The very fact of the preconception of the incarnation in scotuss thought means that we are coheirs to this trinitarian love that christ has. He is author of soil and soul and island spirituality. For scotus, then, all the electmen and angelsform but one family, the heavenly court, with christ jesus as the head. Reconsidering the history of the absolute predestination of christ in light of robert grosseteste.
John duns scotus the possibility of the incarnation. Incarnation in franciscan spirituality duns scotus and the meaning of love. Duns scotuss writings are very numerous and they have often been printed. The basic difference between the scotusbiel synthesis and the. John duns scotus stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Any discussion of john duns scotus 12668 on our knowledge of god has to be a discussion of scotuss thesis that we have concepts univocal to god and creatures. Scotus, john duns internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Scotus writings absolute primacy of christabsolute. Jan 05, 2012 incarnation in franciscan spirituality duns scotus and the meaning of love. The theology of john duns scotus society of saint francis. The doctrine maintains that the divine and human natures of jesus do. To this end many of the actual writings of scotus on the subject are included and, with references to the church fathers and other reputable. Pdf pdf duns scotus on the reality of selfchange, in selfmotion from aristotle to newton, edited by marylouise gill and jim lennox, princeton university press 1994, 227290. It is generally acknowledged that a high thirteenthcentury evaluation of grace was replaced by a low fourteenthcentury evaluation of grace.
For mind blowing, thoughts, on the incarnation by bl. A native of scotland as his name implies, scotus became a franciscan and taught in oxford, paris, and cologne. Richard rohr has an article on huffpo, which is also on the incarnation. The incarnation according to john scottus eriugena. John duns scotus on the trinitarian center of the graced. Christ is the king of this celestial court with an absolute primacy and obviously mary is the queen, jointly predestined with him with a subordinate primacy, and we are the adopted children. Balic, joannis duns scoti, doctoris mariani, theologiae marianae elementa ad fidem codd. Click here for a post on aquinas, scotus and the incarnation from christianity today. For duns scotus, the word becoming flesh as described in the prologue to johns gospel must surely represent the creators primary design, not some kind of afterthought or plan b. John duns scotus franciscan intellectual tradition. In later years, he was identified as john duns scotus to indicate the land of his birth. The theology of john duns scotus, written by antonie vos. Alfonso salmeron 151585, for example, supported the scotist view on the motive of the incarnation, even as francisco toledo 153296. John duns scotus 12668 john duns scotus, along with bonaventure, aquinas, and ockham, is one of the four great philosophers of high scholasticism.
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