John Duns Scotus was a Scottish Franciscan theologian and philosopher who lived during the late medieval period. He was a contemporary of Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham, and was one of the most important thinkers of the High Middle Ages. Scotus’s concept of Being, which is central to his metaphysics, differs from that of Aquinas and other Aristotelian philosophers.
Scotus believes that Being is the most abstract concept that can be grasped by the human mind, and is therefore the most fundamental concept of all. He also argues that Being is not a genus, as Aristotle and Aquinas believed, but is instead a transcendental. This means that Being is not a kind of thing, but is rather a way of being that can be predicated of anything that exists. In other words, Being is a universal concept that applies to everything that exists, rather than being a specific kind of thing.
Scotus also believes that Being is univocal, which means that it has the same meaning regardless of the context in which it is used. This is in contrast to the view of Aquinas and other Aristotelian philosophers, who believed that Being was analogical, meaning that its meaning varied depending on the context in which it was used.
According to Scotus, Being is not a substance, but is rather a concept that applies to all substances. He argues that substances have being in virtue of their existence, and that existence is not a property of substances, but is rather identical with their essence. This means that for Scotus, existence is not a contingent property that substances may or may not have, but is rather a necessary aspect of their nature.
Scotus’s concept of Being also has implications for his theology. He argues that God’s Being is not a genus, as Aquinas believed, but is instead a unique kind of Being that is different from all other beings. God’s Being is also infinite, in the sense that it is not limited by any particular essence or nature. This means that God’s Being is not subject to the same kinds of limitations as the beings of the natural world.
Another important aspect of Scotus’s concept of Being is his idea of haecceity. Haecceity is the Latin term for “thisness,” and refers to the unique qualities that make each individual thing what it is. For Scotus, haecceity is a real aspect of things, and is not reducible to their essence or nature. This means that each individual thing has a unique identity that is not shared by anything else.
Scotus’s concept of Being has been influential in modern philosophy, particularly in the work of existentialist philosophers such as Martin Heidegger. Heidegger’s concept of Dasein, which refers to the unique identity of human beings, can be seen as a development of Scotus’s idea of haecceity. Heidegger also shares Scotus’s view that Being is univocal, and that it is the most fundamental concept of all.
In conclusion, Scotus’s concept of Being is an important development in medieval metaphysics, and differs significantly from the views of other Aristotelian philosophers such as Aquinas. Scotus’s view that Being is a transcendental, and that it is univocal, has important implications for his metaphysics, as well as for his theology. His concept of haecceity has also been influential in modern philosophy, particularly in the work of existentialist thinkers. Overall, Scotus’s contribution to the development of metaphysics has had a lasting impact on philosophy and theology.