The Scottish philosopher Duns Scotus got a bad rap after his death. The English word “dunce” comes from the name of “Duns Scotus.” By extension, so does the English phrase “dunce cap.” But there’s a lot to learn about with Duns Scotus, and from the other medieval Christian philosophers. This audiobook is marketed as “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christianity,” but the introductory narration for this audiobook calls it “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christian Philosophy.” To me, this sounds like a more appropriate title, since the focus of the audiobook is on philosophy – and, more specifically, religious philosophy.
But they cover more than just Duns Scotus himself. They also cover other medieval Christian philosophers. They briefly cover St. Augustine, who was then admired by every major faction within the Catholic Church. They cover St. Anselm, famous for his “ontological argument” for the existence of God. (This would influence the corresponding arguments for God’s existence by Duns Scotus.) They also cover William of Ockham here, who is famous for “Occam’s razor” – although they do not mention that major contribution here. Rather, they focus on the religious ideas of the various men involved here. Most importantly, they cover Bonaventure, a major ally of Duns Scotus.
William of Ockham, the namesake of Occam’s razor
And they later cover St. Thomas Aquinas, someone with whom Duns Scotus would disagree. At this time, there were two major factions within the Catholic Church. One was the Dominican order, of which Thomas Aquinas was a part. And the other was the Franciscan order, of which Duns Scotus was a part. These factions competed with each other intensely, each questioning the other’s religious devotion at times. Part of their disagreement was about the philosophy of Aristotle, whose work had recently been rediscovered in the Christian world. Both sides believed that there was (at least some) value in reason, and in the teachings of the pagan Aristotle. But the Dominicans liked Aristotle much more than did the Franciscans. The Franciscans believed that many of Aristotle’s teachings were inconsistent with those of the church. Duns Scotus joined in the Franciscans’ heated dispute with the Dominicans, and made a number of attacks on Thomas Aquinas, and on the extent of his reliance upon reason.
Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas
These disputes help to show that the Catholic Church was not (and is not) a monolithic bloc. There have been major disagreements within the Catholic Church over issues of some importance. For myself, I am a fan of Aristotle. Thus, I find myself agreeing more with Thomas Aquinas than with Duns Scotus. In some ways, the Pope also agreed more with Thomas Aquinas, as some of Aquinas’s views triumphed after his death. But Duns Scotus won the disputes in several other ways. Most notably, Duns Scotus’s view of the Virgin Mary would triumph in the Catholic Church. Scotus believed that Mary was a figure almost as perfect as her divine offspring. This lives on in the Catholic Church as the “veneration” of the Virgin Mary. The church would also follow Duns Scotus in the areas of metaphysics and theology.
Duns Scotus himself
I don’t always agree with Duns Scotus, but I think that making him the namesake of the word “dunce” was undeserved. There is much of value in his philosophy, and I greatly enjoyed this audiobook’s presentation of his ideas. It was written by two (presumably Catholic) scholars from the University of Notre Dame, which may have influenced the presentation somewhat. But I’m perfectly all right with this, since I’d rather hear about Scotus’s philosophy from his enthusiastic supporters in the church. This is particularly true, when they give such a fair presentation of Scotus’s ideas. Much recommended to anyone interested in Christianity, or in medieval philosophy.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Duns Scotus and Medieval Christianity
See also the audiobook series
Religions, Scriptures, and Spirituality
Others to be covered later
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