The Shadow of Scotus

The Shadow of Scotus
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The Shadow of Scotus: Philosophy and Faith in Pre-Reformation Scotland

Information on The Shadow of Scotus from the publisher:

A unique study of Pre-Reformation Scottish philosophers and philosophy. The greatest of the philosophers was John Duns Scotus, but there were others such as John Ireland, John Mair of Haddington and George Lokert of Ayr. Focusing on the concepts of will, intellect and faith, Professor Broadie investigates the philosophy of these men and the relationships between their ideas. He places them within the framework of the medieval dispute between nominalists and realists which so characterised philosophy and theology in the Middle Ages. Scotus' account of the primacy of will over intellect was demonstrably influenced by his Franciscan inheritance. Will is the faculty of freedom. However, how can our acts be free if God has known from eternity that we will perform them? This question is examined in relation to John Ireland's major theological work, The Mirror of Wisdom. Professor Broadie analyses the concept of faith as presented by John Mair and his Scottish contemporaries, and their doctrine that giving assent as an act of faith involves two stages, an act of intellect by which hesitant assent is given, and an act of free will by which hesitancy is replaced by certainty.

Description of Alexander Broadie, author of The Shadow of Scotus:

This book displays all the philosophical vigour and liveliness of Pre-Reformation Scotland, and overturns any notion that Scottish philosophical culture only began with the Enlightenment. As the leading opponent of Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus argued that love and will were the primary elements in God's nature, not knowledge and reason as Aquinas insisted. Broadie discusses Scotus's distinctives and his influence on John Ireland, John Mair, George Lokert, and successors from the 12th to 16th centuries. 128 pages, softcover.