This blog post examines the philosophical concepts of Duns Scotus, exploring the new direction he presented to medieval philosophy and his influence on later generations.
The thought of the English theologian Duns Scotus is so abstruse and specialized that he is called the philosopher of philosophers. Scotus did not merely present theories; he focused on deeply exploring philosophical traditions and drawing new insights from within them. This stemmed from his attempts to traverse the boundaries between philosophy and theology, seeking to integrate the two disciplines. To develop his theories, he critically examined and synthesized many preceding ideas, then went further by adding his own philosophical concepts. His methodology did not end with mere criticism of past thought; instead, he used the insights gained from that criticism as the foundation for new theories. The renowned 13th-century theologian Thomas Aquinas was no exception to this approach. The intellectual opposition between Aquinas and Scotus formed a crucial axis of medieval philosophy, causing significant ripples in the academic world of the time. Most of Scotus’s thought stood in direct opposition to Thomas Aquinas. This stemmed from their fundamentally different theological approaches: Scotus favored a more intuitive and direct approach, while Aquinas emphasized logical and systematic structure.
Although he died at the age of 42, leaving many of his theories unfinished, Scotus’s philosophical legacy profoundly influenced later medieval thinkers. His arguments and thought significantly impacted numerous subsequent philosophers. In particular, his logical rigor and metaphysical inquiries provided crucial foundations for the development of modern philosophy. While it is impossible to encompass his entire vast body of thought in this article, we shall briefly examine his logic, epistemology, philosophy of mind, ethics, and theology.
In epistemology, although Scotus professed a form of nominalism, he believed the scope of what the intellect could investigate was far broader than Aquinas’s theory. This expansion of the intellect’s scope offers insight into Scotus’s view of human reason. Whereas Aquinas saw the intellect’s objects in the temporal world as the natures of material things, Scotus’s intellect was powerful enough to encompass all beings, both celestial and terrestrial. This stemmed from his intent to integrate theology and metaphysics, part of his attempt to view the material and immaterial worlds as one coherent system. Moreover, he attributed direct perception of individual entities themselves to the intellect. This expansion of perception reveals Scotus’s originality and demonstrates his philosophical interest in particular beings. However, as the intellect’s realm of inquiry expanded, the level of certainty it could attain significantly diminished. This suggests he considered epistemological skepticism, revealing the depth of his philosophical thought.
Duns Scotus defines the subject of metaphysics as the investigation of being as being. This definition extends beyond merely exploring the essence of being to include an attempt to explain how being actually exists. Here, Scotus broadens the scope beyond previous metaphysics by including the Christian God within this category of being. This reflects Scotus’s attempt to unify metaphysics and theology, demonstrating his philosophical innovation. However, by asserting that God’s attributes are beyond rational comprehension, he effectively relegated them to the realm of theology, thereby somewhat narrowing his scope. This theological approach suggests his metaphysics was rooted in theological conviction, transcending mere philosophical argumentation.
A crucial logic in Scotus’s explanation of metaphysics was that transcendent predicates like existence or goodness are univocal, not analogical. This reveals how Scotus understood the relationship between God and creatures and plays a significant role in his philosophical system. The meaning of this is that if it is possible for humans to speak about God in any way, there are certain words that apply identically to both creatures and God. Consequently, it follows that although human language about God is limited, knowledge of God is not entirely impossible.
In summary, within any concrete material substance, all parts are thus individually distinct, and not only the parts but also the relationships between them are added. This reveals Scotus’s unique perspective on substance and demonstrates the depth of his philosophical thought. Furthermore, when assembled, it possesses attributes as a whole. These attributes of the whole can be understood not merely as a collection of parts, but as a new dimension of existence. Scotus asserts that we can distinguish these things. This indicates that his philosophy extends beyond mere logical reasoning and is closely connected to actual cognition.
Scotus’s philosophy of mind also contrasts significantly with Aquinas’s. Scotus held that the human mind could explore God not merely by reflecting divine images, but through independent cognition and understanding. Aquinas, however, believed pure intellectual cognition of individuals did not exist. This reflects Aquinas’s limited view of human intellect, whereas Scotus sought to explore the infinite potential of human intellect beyond this limitation. His reasoning was that if individuation occurs through matter, as Aristotle posited, then thought independent of matter cannot perceive it. This claim became one of the most significant points of contention in medieval philosophy, continuously addressed in subsequent philosophical discussions.
Summarizing Scotus’s ethical theory, his ethics does not merely present moral norms but extends to exploring the complex relationship between human free will and divine law. Human capacity for moral reasoning has limits, and the concept of sin is expressed externally. This demonstrates how his moral philosophy understands the tension between human actions and divine command. This is evident in two points: first, that while humans can grasp natural law through reason, other realms can only be understood through divine revelation; and second, that the fact of having sinned does not cause any internal change in the person’s heart. This approach emphasizes that moral action must include not merely compliance with norms, but also internal reflection and obedience to divine revelation.
Scotus employs the concept of causality to prove the existence of God, the First Cause. This concept plays a crucial role in his metaphysical system, reflecting his attempt to logically demonstrate God’s existence. His argument is that if nothing can find its cause of existence within itself, then by continually tracing the cause of any thing, one will eventually (though not endlessly) reach the First Cause. This demonstrates how Scotus understood the existence of God and sought to prove it.
Scotus himself reportedly did not present a proof for God’s existence. This suggests he attempted a new approach rather than simply repeating existing proof methodologies. Unlike Aquinas, who relied excessively on natural philosophy, Scotus began with the possibility of causality. This reveals his philosophical originality and his effort to break free from existing philosophical frameworks. He desired to prove God based on pure abstract possibility. This approach indicates that his metaphysics did not merely consist of logical reasoning but also encompassed deep reflection on the essence of God.
