John Duns Scotus

John Duns Scotus
The Subtle Doctor
Born	c. 1266 Duns, County of Berwick, Kingdom of Scotland
Died	8 November 1308 Cologne, Electorate of Cologne, Holy Roman Empire
Alma mater	University of Oxford
Era	Medieval philosophy
Region	Western Philosophy
School	Scholasticism Voluntarism Medieval realism
Main interests	Metaphysics, theology, logic, epistemology, ethics
Notable ideas	Univocity of being, haecceity as a principle of individuation, Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary
Influences Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, Henry of Ghent
Influenced Antonius Andreas, William of Ockham, Descartes, Lorenz Fuetscher, Mário Ferreira dos Santos, Heidegger, Deleuze, Charles Sanders Peirce, Gerard Manley Hopkins

Blessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M.
A statue of John Duns Scotus by Frank Tritchler in the Public Park in the town of Duns erected in 1966
Religious and priest
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Beatified	20 March 1993, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Major shrine	Franciscan Church, Cologne, Germany
Feast	November 8

John Duns, commonly called Duns Scotus (/dʌnz ˈskoʊtəsˌ ˈskɒtəs/; c. 1266 – 8 November 1308), is generally considered to be one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages. Scotus has had considerable influence on both Catholic and secular thought. The doctrines for which he is best known are the "univocity of being," that 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, the 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.

Duns Scotus was given the scholastic accolade Doctor Subtilis (Subtle Doctor) for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

Little is known of Duns Scotus apart from his work. His date of birth is thought to have been between 23 December 1265 and 17 March 1266, born into a leading family of the region. The site of his birth, in front of the Pavilion Lodge, near the North Lodge of Duns Castle, is now marked by a cairn which was erected in 1966 by the Franciscan friars of the United Kingdom to mark the 700th anniversary of his birth. Duns Scotus received the religious habit of the Friars Minor at Dumfries, where his uncle, Elias Duns, was guardian.