 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Scotism" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This articleneeds attention from an expert in philosophy. Please add areason or atalk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article.WikiProject Philosophy may be able to help recruit an expert.(August 2023) |
| Part ofa series on |
| John Duns Scotus |
|---|
 |
Scholasticism Univocity Haecceity Immaculate Conception Beatific vision Formal distinction Hylomorphism Scotistic realism Substance theory (ousia) Accident Substantial form Quiddity (essence /nature) Individuation Existence of God Christology Platonic realism Categories (Aristotle) Problem of universals Metaphysics Christianity and slavery |
Influences Aristotle ("The Philosopher") St. Paul ("The Apostle") Pseudo-Dionysius St. Augustine ("The Theologian") St. Boethius Avicenna Peter Lombard ("The Master") Averroes ("The Commentator") Maimonides ("Rabbi Moses") St. Albertus Magnus ("The Universal Doctor") St. Thomas Aquinas ("The Angelic Doctor") |
 Catholicism Portal |
 | ||||
| Part ofa series on | ||||
| Catholic philosophy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
   | ||||
Scotism is thephilosophical school andtheological system named afterJohn Duns Scotus, a 13th-century Scottish philosopher-theologian. The word comes from the name of its originator, whoseOpus Oxoniense was one of the most important documents inmedieval philosophy andRoman Catholic theology, defining what would later be declared the dogma of theImmaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in his constitutionIneffabilis Deus on 8 December 1854.[1][2]
Scotism developed out of theOld Franciscan School, which dominated theology during theMiddle Ages. This school of thought initially followedAugustinism, which dominated theology at the time.
Scotus found the ground already cleared for the conflict with the followers ofAquinas. He made very free use ofAristotelianism, but in its employment exercised sharp criticism, and in important points adhered to the teaching of the Older Franciscan School–especially with regard to the plurality of forms or of souls, the spiritual matter of the angels and of souls, etc., wherein he energetically combatted Aquinas.Scotism, or what is known as theLater Franciscan School, is thus only a continuation or further development of the older school, with a much wider, although not exclusive acceptance ofPeripatetic ideas. The difference between Thomism and Scotism could be expressed by saying that, while both derive fromArabicNeoplatonized Aristotelianism, Thomism is closer to the orthodox Aristotelianism ofMaimonides,Averroes andAvicenna, while Scotism reflects the Platonizing tendency going back throughAvicebron, theBrethren of Purity, theLiber de Causis andProclus toPlotinus.
Concerning the relation of these schools to each other, or the relation of Scotus toAlexander of Hales andSt. Bonaventure, consult the work of the Flemish Recollect,Mathias Hauzeur. While Thomism has received unparalleled backing by the Magisterium,[3] Scotist influence prevailed on a number of important points, not least the doctrine of theImmaculate Conception.
Nominalism is older than Scotus, but its revival inOccamism may be traced to the one-sided exaggeration of some propositions of Scotus. Scotist Formalism is the direct opposite of Nominalism, and the Scotists were at one with theThomists in combatting the latter; Occam himself was a bitter opponent of Scotus. TheCouncil of Trent defined as dogma a series of doctrines especially emphasized by the Scotists (e.g. freedom of the will, free co-operation with grace, etc..). In other points the canons were intentionally so framed that they do not affect Scotism (e.g. that the first man was constitutus in holiness and justice). This was also done at the Vatican Council. In theThomistic–Molinistic controversy concerning the foreknowledge of God, predestination, the relation of grace tofree will, the Scotists took little part. They either supported one of the parties, or took up a middle position, rejecting both the predetermination of the Thomists and the scientia media of the Molinists. In Scotism, God recognizes the free future acts in His essence, and provides a free decree of His will, which does not predetermine human free will, but only accompanies it.
Jesuit philosophers and theologians adopted a series of the Scotist propositions. Later authorities reject in part many of these propositions, and another series of propositions was rejected by Catholic theologians based on a misunderstanding – e.g. the doctrine of theunivocatio entis, of the acceptation of the merits of Christ and man, etc.
Numerous other propositions have been accepted or at least favourably treated by a large number of Catholic scholars and amongst these are many propositions from psychology: e.g. that the powers of the soul are not merely accidents even natural and necessary of the soul, that they are not really distinct from the substance of the soul or from one another etc.
They also took from Scotism many propositions concerning the doctrine of theangels.
| Part ofa series on |
| Scholasticism |
|---|
 |
Philosophers
|
Scotism exercised an influence on the development of philosophy and theology; its importance is not, as is often asserted, purely negative – i.e. it does not consist only in the fact that it exercised a criticism onThomas Aquinas and theThomistic school.
A comparison of the Scotist teaching with that of Aquinas has been often attempted – for example, in the abovementioned work ofHauzeur at the end of the first volume; by Sarnano (Costanzo Torri,Conciliatio omnium controversiarum etc. (1589– ). In many cases, the differences are mostly in the terminology and a reconciliation is possible if one emphasize certain parts of Scotus or Aquinas and passes over or tones down others. However, some contradictions remain on a number of points.
Generally speaking, Scotism found its supporters within the Franciscan Order; certainly, opposition to the Dominicans (i.e. to Aquinas) made many members of the order disciples of Scotus. However, this does not mean that the foundation and development of Scotism is to be regarded as a product of the rivalry between the two orders. Even Aquinas at first found a few opponents in his order – not all his fellow-Dominicans followed him in every particular (e.g.Durandus of St. Pourçain).
The Scotist doctrines were also supported by manyMinorites. Furthermore, Scotism found not a few supporters among secular professors and in other religious orders (e.g. theAugustinians,Servites, etc.), especially in England, Ireland, and Spain. Of the Minorites who supported Scotist doctrine, theConventuals seem to have adhered most faithfully to Scotus, particularly at the University of Padua, where many highly esteemed teachers lectured.
It is only at the end of the 15th or the beginning of the 16th century that a special Scotist School can be spoken of. Scotus's works were then collected, brought out in many editions and commentated, etc. Regulations of general chapters, beginning in 1501, frequently recommend or directly prescre Scotism as the teaching of the order.
Scotism appears to have attained its greatest popularity at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Special Scotist chairs appear during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in locations including Paris, Rome, Coimbra, Salamanca, Alcalá, Padua, and Pavia. In the eighteenth century it had still an important following, but in the 19th it suffered a great decline. One of the reasons for this was the repeated suppressions of the order in almost every country, while the recommendation of the teaching of St. Thomas by several popes could not be favourable to Scotism.
Some sources describe Scotism as merely tolerated by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Encyclopedia disputes this, arguing that none of its propositions have been censured, many prominent Catholic figures have been adherents, and various general statues recommend it. In their decreesLeo XIII andPius X have recommended not alone St. Thomas, but also Scholasticism in general, and this includes also the Scotist School.[citation needed]
Most Scotists are both philosophers and theologians. Notable Scotists of the fourteenth century includedAntonius Andrea andFrancis of Mayrone (c. 1280–1328) author of aTractatus de transcendentibus.Francis Mayron, who introduced theactus sorbonicus into theUniversity of Paris.
Scotists of the fifteenth century included two popes,Alexander V andSixtus IV, Elector Frederick III ofSaxony andAngelus of Chivasso. The latter's work on Scotist theology was so notorious that it waspublicly burned byMartin Luther.
Notable Scotists of the sixteenth century includedPaul Scriptoris, noted professor at theUniversity of Tübingen, and theArchbishop of AthensAntonio Trombetta.
The many Scotists of the 17th and 18th centuries include:
In the nineteenth century, although Scotism was retained in the schools of the Franciscan Order in accordance with the statutes, there were few works in the Scotist tradition, in any case no celebrated ones.
Though the use of the term Scotism has become a bit antiquated, several contemporary theologians, especially from among the Franciscan Orders, like Kenan Osborne OFM andDaniel Horan OFM, can be seen as in the Scotist tradition. Several recent projects such as the Scotus Project of CUA, the International Scotistic Commission in Rome and the Commission of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition of the English Speaking Conference of the OFM have sought to increase awareness of Duns Scotus and Scotism on contemporary theology. Scotism has also found a home amongstAnglo-Catholics, including Richard Cross and Thomas Williams, as well as influencingProtestants likeWilliam Lane Craig.[6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Scotism and Scotists".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.| Ethics |    | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools |
| ||||||||
| Philosophers |
| ||||||||
| Concepts |
| ||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
