John Duns Scotus

John Duns Scotus ( dunz SKOH-təs; Ecclesiastical Latin: [duns ˈskɔtus], 'Duns the Scot'; c. 1265/66 – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered among the most important philosopher-theologians in Western Christendom during the last part of the medieval period, together with Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure and William of Ockham. The intellectual tradition derived from Scotus's work is called Scotism.

Duns 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 formalities of the same thing; and the idea of haecceity, the property supposed to be in each individual thing that makes it an individual (i.e., a certain "thisness"). Duns Scotus also developed a complex argument for the existence of God, and argued for the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

In Portugal, the Church of the Conception of Covilhã (formerly St. Francis), there is an exceptionally rare painting in which the theologian Duns Scotus tramples a seven-headed dragon—representing seven heresies. For historians, this image served as a warning—an invitation to denounce others. Dr. Duns Scotus, a champion of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, is depicted in a manner suited to the climate of intense religiosity that prevailed in Counter-Reformation Covilhã. Here, the dragon of heresy is shown spewing forth the heads of Judas, Arius, Caleb, Pelagius, Calvin, Subeito, and Luther. In 1704, the Inquisition prosecuted nearly fifty wool manufacturers and workers in Covilhã for "Judaizing"—one of the heresies represented in the painting. It was the deadliest year within two and a half centuries of persecution directed at the wool industry. Many fled the country.

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