How orthodox is Duns Scotus in the eyes of the Church?

theidler · Feb 4, 2012

I always hear very mixed things about Bl. John Duns Scotus. Though he is a blessed, it seems his theology has a very tarnished reputation. What is orthodox about Scotus, and what is not?

ALotLessThumb · Feb 7, 2012

None of the Blessed Duns Scotus’s propositions have been anathema, and many prominent theologians, bishops&popes, and saints have considered themselves of the Scotist school.

The problem is that the Bl. Duns Scotus’s work is very difficult to read and it is not as systematic as Saint Thomas. There are asides and digressions that may have applied in the Scholastic times but doesn’t edify us in our present age.

Having said that, Scotus gets a bad rap often by people who don’t seem to have a firm grasp on the Scotus’s arguments [he wasn’t called the Subtle Doctor for nothing

] and since the Scotist school collapsed with the French Revolution, there aren’t many people left who are able to give defense or properly teach his work. And it doesn’t help that there is this overlaying meta-narrative where Scotus receives the blame for Ockham who receives the blame for the collapse of the Christianized world etc.

Anyone with a passing familiarity of Ockham and the three schools would notice that the Duns Scotus, along with Thomas were considered the “old way” and not apart of the via moderna and that Ockham, even though a student of Scotus, references him mainly as a foil of criticism to explain the ideas of what was to become his nominalistic school.

That being said, there are resources for Dun Scotus on the internet such as sites like this: lyfaber.blogspot.com/ who do a great service to the work of Scotus. I suggest you check it out.

theidler · Feb 7, 2012

ALotLessThumb said:
None of the Blessed Duns Scotus’s propositions have been anathema, and many prominent theologians, bishops&popes, and saints have considered themselves of the Scotist school.

The problem is that the Bl. Duns Scotus’s work is very difficult to read and it is not as systematic as Saint Thomas. There are asides and digressions that may have applied in the Scholastic times but doesn’t edify us in our present age.

Having said that, Scotus gets a bad rap often by people who don’t seem to have a firm grasp on the Scotus’s arguments [he wasn’t called the Subtle Doctor for nothing ] and since the Scotist school collapsed with the French Revolution, there aren’t many people left who are able to give defense or properly teach his work. And it doesn’t help that there is this overlaying meta-narrative where Scotus receives the blame for Ockham who receives the blame for the collapse of the Christianized world etc.

Anyone with a passing familiarity of Ockham and the three schools would notice that the Duns Scotus, along with Thomas were considered the “old way” and not apart of the via moderna and that Ockham, even though a student of Scotus, references him mainly as a foil of criticism to explain the ideas of what was to become his nominalistic school.

That being said, there are resources for Dun Scotus on the internet such as sites like this: lyfaber.blogspot.com/ who do a great service to the work of Scotus. I suggest you check it out.

Hurrah! A response! I was beginning to think no one would respond…

Yes, I have always wondered why Scotus seems to have such a tarnished reputation. I wonder too why he is a “Blessed” - we hear always about his theology and philosophy, but what about him as a person? What was especially holy and virtuous about him?

Trevor_Stamm · Feb 7, 2012

How orthodox is Duns Scotus in the eyes of the Church?

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