Duns Scotus

John Duns Scotus 'Dunce'
Born	[[Birth Date:=1265|1265]] England
Died	[[Death Date:=1308|1308]] [[Death_City:=Cologne|Cologne]], Germany unknown
Occupation	Philosopher
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The blessed John Duns Scotus, was one of the most important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages (the others being Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham and Bonaventura. He was nicknamed Doctor Subtilis for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought.

Scotus has had considerable influence on Roman Catholic thought. The doctrines for which he is best known are the univocity of being (existence is the most abstract concept we have, applicable to everything that exists), the formal distinction, a way of distinguishing between different aspects of the same thing, and the idea of haecceity, a property supposed to be in each individual thing that makes it an individual. Scotus also developed a complex argument for the existence of God, and argued for the Immaculate conception of Mary.

Notability

This philosopher has 18 pages in the Blackwell Companion.