Philosopher of the Month - September| Philosophy - Oxford University Press

Panumas King, marketing executive for philosophy at Oxford University Press explains, John Duns Scotus (b. c. 1265/1266–d. 1308) was one of the most significant Christian philosophers and theologians of the medieval period. 
 

Photo: Rainier Ridao on Unsplash.

Scotus made important and influential contributions in metaphysics, ethics, and natural theology. Little was known of his life but he was born in Scotland, became a Franciscan monk, spent his learning and professional life at Oxford and Paris, and died in Cologne. He was also the first theologian to defend the theory of Immaculate Conception. The doctrine of Immaculate Conception holds that God preserved the Virgin Mary from the taint of original sin from the moment she was conceived. Although Aristotle’s ideas were prevalent during the turn of the 13^th century, he belonged to Franciscan tradition which, as opposed to Aristotle, emphasised the power of faith and will. He was also much influenced by Arabic philosophers, especially Avicenna, with their emphasis on Being as the metaphysical object.

Scotus’s masterpieces were the revised commentary on the writings of the Italian theologian Peter Lombard’s Sentences, known as the Ordinatio, the 12th-century compilation of authoritative passages that theologians had to comment on before qualifying as masters, and his questions on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, considered his most difficult work. Due to his early death, he was unable to carry out a final revision of most of his important works. His influence on later generations of thinkers was considerable and extended beyond the Middle ages.
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Source: OUPblog (blog)