Duns Scot: the essence of views

John Duns Scotus was one of the greatest Franciscan theologians. He founded a doctrine called "cattleism", which is a special form of scholasticism. Duns was a philosopher and logician known as "Doctor Subtilis" - he was awarded this nickname for the skilful, unobtrusive blending of different worldviews and philosophical currents in one teaching. Unlike other prominent thinkers of the Middle Ages, including William Ockham and Thomas Aquinas, Scott adhered to moderate voluntarism. Many of his ideas have had a significant impact on the philosophy and theology of the future, and arguments for the existence of God are being studied by religion researchers today.

A life

No one knows for sure when John Duns Scot was born, but historians are sure that his name is due to the homonymous city of Duns, located near the Scottish border with England. Like many compatriots, the philosopher received the nickname "Scot", meaning "Scot." He was ordained on March 17, 1291. Given that the local priest ordained a group of others at the end of 1290, it can be assumed that Duns Scotus was born in the first quarter of 1266 and became a clergyman as soon as he reached the legal age. In his youth, the future philosopher and theologian joined the Franciscans who sent him to Oxford in about 1288. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the thinker was still in Oxford, as between 1300 and 1301 he took part in the famous theological discussion - as soon as he had finished his lectures on the "Sentences". However, he was not accepted into Oxford as a permanent instructor, as the local abbot sent a promising figure to the prestigious University of Paris, where he second time lectured on the "Sentences".

Duns Scot, whose philosophy has made an invaluable contribution to world culture, could not finish his studies in Paris because of the continuing confrontation between Pope Boniface VIII and the French King Philippe Just. In June 1301 the emissaries of the king questioned every Franciscan in the French convent, separating the royalists from the papists. Those who supported the Vatican were asked to leave France within three days. Duns Scotus was a representative of the Papists and therefore he was forced to leave the country, but the philosopher returned to Paris in the autumn of 1304, when Boniface died and his place was occupied by the new Pope Benedict XI, who managed to find a common language with the king. It is certainly not known where Duns spent several years of forced exile; Historians suggest that he returned to teach in Oxford. For some time a famous figure lived and lectured in Cambridge, but the time frame for this period can not be clarified.

Scott finished his studies in Paris and received the status of master (head of the college) around the beginning of 1305. Over the next couple of years, he held an extensive discussion on scholastic issues. The Order then sent him to the Franciscan House of Exercises in Cologne, where Duns gave lectures on scholasticism. In 1308 the philosopher died; The date of his death is officially considered on November 8.

Subject of metaphysics

The teaching of the philosopher and theologian is inseparable from the beliefs and worldviews that dominated during his life. The Middle Ages defines the views that John Duns Scotus propagated. Philosophy, which briefly describes his vision of the divine principle, as well as the teachings of the Islamic thinkers Avicenna and Ibn Rushd, is largely based on various provisions of the Aristotelian work "Metaphysics." The main concepts in this vein are "being", "God" and "matter." Avicenna and Ibn Rushd, who had an unprecedented influence on the development of Christian scholastic philosophy, have in this connection diametrically opposed views. Thus, Avicenna denies the supposition that God is the subject of metaphysics in view of the fact that no science can prove and affirm the existence of its own subject; At the same time, metaphysics can demonstrate the existence of God. According to Avicenna, this science studies the essence of the being. Man is in some way related to God, matter and case, and this relationship makes it possible to study the science of a being that would include God and separate substances in its subject matter, as well as matter and action. Ibn Rushd ultimately only partially agrees with Avicenna, confirming that the study of the metaphysics of the essence implies her studying various substances and, in particular, individual substances and God. Considering that physics, and not the more noble science of metaphysics, determines the existence of God, one can not prove the fact that the subject of metaphysics is God. John Duns Scotus, whose philosophy largely follows the path of Avicenna's knowledge, supports the idea that metaphysics studies beings, the highest of which is undoubtedly God; He is the only perfect being on whom all the others depend. This is why God occupies the most important place in the system of metaphysics, which also includes the doctrine of the transcendental, reflecting the Aristotelian scheme of categories. Transcendentales are a being, own qualities of a being ("one", "right", "right" are transcendental concepts, since they co-exist with substance and designate one of the determinations of substance) and everything that enters into relative opposites ("finite "And" infinite "," necessary "and" conditional "). However, in the theory of knowledge, Duns Scot emphasized that any actual substance falling under the term "being" can be considered the subject of metaphysics.

Universalia

Medieval philosophers base all their works on ontological classification systems - in particular, on the systems described in Aristotle's work "Categories" - to demonstrate the key relationships between created beings and provide a person with scientific knowledge of them. So, for example, the personality of Socrates and Plato belong to the species of human beings, which, in turn, belong to the genus of animals. Donkeys also belong to the genus of animals, but the difference in the form of an opportunity to think rationally distinguishes man from other animals. The genus "animals" together with other groups of the appropriate order (for example, the genus "plants") belongs to the category of substances. These truths are not disputed by anyone. The ontological status of the listed genera and species remains a discussion issue. Are they in an extra-ordinary reality or are they only concepts generated by the human mind? Are the genera and species of individual beings, or should they be regarded as independent, relative terms? John Duns Scot, whose philosophy is based on his personal conception of common natures, pays much attention to these scholastic questions. In particular, he argues that such generalities as "humanity" and "animalistic" really do exist (although their being is "less significant" than the being of individuals) and that they are common both in themselves and in reality.

A unique theory

It is difficult to accept categorically the representations that guided John Duns Scotus; Citations, preserved in the original sources and abstracts, demonstrate that certain aspects of reality (for example, genera and species) in his outlook have less than a quantitative unity. Accordingly, the philosopher offers a whole set of arguments in favor of the conclusion that not all real unity is unity quantitative. In the strongest arguments, he emphasizes that if the matter were exactly the opposite, then all the actual diversity would be a numerical variety. However, in this case, two different quantitatively different things are equally different from each other. As a result, it turns out that Socrates is as different from Plato as it is different from the geometric figure. In this case, the human intellect is incapable of discovering anything in common between Socrates and Plato. It turns out that when applying the universal concept of "human being" to two personalities, a person uses a simple fiction of his own mind. These absurd conclusions demonstrate that quantitative diversity is not unique, but since it is the largest, there is a certain less than quantitative variety and a corresponding less unity than quantitative unity.

Another argument boils down to the fact that in the absence of intelligence capable of cognitive thinking, the flame of the fire will still produce a new flame. The fire-forming and the formed flame will have a real unity of form-a unity that proves that this case is an example of unambiguous causation. Two types of flame, therefore, have a general nature depending on the intellect with a unity smaller than the quantitative one.

The problem of indifferentiation

These problems are carefully studied by late scholasticism. Duns Scot believed that common natures in themselves are not individuals, independent units, since their own unity is less than quantitative. However, common natures are not universal. Following the claims of Aristotle, Scot agrees that universality defines one of many and refers to many things. As the medieval thinker understands the given idea, the universalism F must be so indifferent that it could refer to all individual F in such a way that the universal and each of its separate elements are identical. In simple words, the universal F defines each individual F equally well. Scott agrees that in this sense, no common nature can be a universal, even if it is characterized by a certain kind of indifferent: the general nature can not have the same properties with another general nature related to a separate type of beings and substances. All such late scholasticism gradually comes to such conclusions; Duns Scotus, William Ockham and other thinkers try to subject themselves to rational classification.

The role of intellect

Although Scott is the first to talk about the difference between universals and common natures, he draws inspiration from Avicenna's famous saying that a horse is just a horse. As Duns understands this assertion, common natures are indifferent to individuality or universality. Although they can not in fact exist without individualization or universalization, in themselves, the general nature is neither the one nor the other. Following this logic, Duns Scotus characterizes universality and individuality as random features of the general nature, which means that they need a justification. All the late scholasticism differs in such ideas; Duns Scotus, William Ockham and some other philosophers and theologians give a key role to the human mind. It is the intellect that causes the general nature to be a universal, forcing it to belong to such a classification, and it turns out that quantitatively one concept can become an assertion characterizing a multitude of individualities.

The Existence of God

Although God is not the subject of metaphysics, he is nevertheless the goal of this science; Metaphysics tends to prove its existence and supernatural nature. Scott offers several versions of evidence of the existence of higher intelligence; All these works are similar in terms of the nature of the narration, structure and strategy. Duns Scotus created the most complex foundation for the existence of God in all scholastic philosophy. His arguments unfold in four stages:

• There is a root cause, a superior being, the first.
• Only one nature is the first in all these three cases.
• The nature, which is the first in any of the presented cases, is infinite.
• There is only one infinite being.

To justify the first statement, he gives a non-modal argument to the root cause:

• A certain creature X is created.

In this way:

• X is created by some other creature Y.
• Either Y is the root cause, or it was created by some third creature.
• A series of created creators can not continue indefinitely.

Hence, the series ends on the root cause - an uncreated being that can produce regardless of other factors.

In terms of modality

Duns Scot, whose biography consists only of periods of apprenticeship and teaching, does not in any way depart from the main principles of the scholastic philosophy of the Middle Ages. He also offers a modal version of his argument:

• It is possible that there is an absolutely first powerful causative force.
• If creature A can not come from another being, then if A exists, it is independent.
• Absolutely the first powerful causative force can not come from another being.
• Hence, absolutely the first powerful causative force is independent.

If the absolute root cause does not exist, then there is no real possibility of its existence. After all, if it is truly the first, it is impossible that it depended on any other reason. Since there is a real possibility of its existence, it means that it exists by itself.

The doctrine of uniqueness

Duns Scot's contribution to world philosophy is invaluable. As soon as the scientist begins to point out in his writings that the object of metaphysics is the being as such, he continues the thought, arguing that the concept of being must unequivocally relate to everything that is studied by metaphysics. If this statement is true only in relation to a certain group of objects, the object lacks the unity necessary for the possibility of studying this subject by a separate science. According to Duns, the analogy is just a form of equivalence. If the concept of a being determines various objects of metaphysics only by analogy, science can not be considered one.

Duns Scotte offers two conditions for recognizing the phenomenon unambiguously:

• Confirmation and denial of the same fact in relation to an individual subject form a contradiction;
• The concept of this phenomenon can serve as the middle term for the syllogism.

For example, without contradiction, we can say that Karen was present at the jury level of her own free will (because she would rather go to court than pay a fine) and at the same time against her own will (because she felt compelled at the emotional level). In this case, the contradiction is not obtained, since the concept of "own will" is equivalent. And vice versa, the syllogism "Inanimate objects can not think, some scanners think for a very long time before giving out the result.So some scanners are animate objects" leads to an absurd conclusion, since the concept of "thinking" is applied in it is equivalent. In the traditional sense of the word, the term is used only in the first sentence; In the second phrase, it has a figurative meaning.

Ethics

In the concept of absolute power of God, the beginning of positivism, penetrating into all aspects of culture, is laid. John Duns Scotus believed that theology should explain the contentious issues of religious texts; He explored new approaches to the study of the Bible, based on the priority of the divine will. An example is the idea of deservedness: moral and ethical principles and actions of a person are seen as worthy or unworthy rewarding from God. Scott's ideas served as a justification for the new doctrine of predestination.

The philosopher is often associated with the principles of voluntarism - the tendency to emphasize the importance of divine will and human freedom in all theoretical issues.

Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception

As for theology, the most significant achievement of Duns is his defense of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In the Middle Ages, many theological disputes were devoted to this topic. By all accounts, Mary could be a virgin at the conception of Christ, but the researchers of the biblical texts did not understand how to solve the following problem: only after the Savior's death the brand of original sin came down from her.

Great philosophers and theologians of Western countries divided into several groups, discussing this issue. It is believed that even Thomas Aquinas denied the validity of the doctrine, although some of the Thomists are not ready to accept this claim. Duns Scot, in turn, cited the following argument: Mary needed redemption, like all people, but through the goodness of the crucifixion of Christ, counted before the relevant events occurred, the brand of original sin disappeared from her.

This argument is given in the papal declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Pope John XXIII recommended reading the theology of Duns Scotus to modern students.