Blessed John Duns Scotus

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Early life and career
Years at the University of Paris
Final period at Cologne

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Agathon (centre) greeting guests in "Plato's Symposium" oil on canvas by Anselm Feuerbach, 1869; in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, Germany.

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How did Charles Sanders Peirce evaluate the philosophical importance of John Duns Scotus?
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How long did John Duns Scotus lecture at Cologne?
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When was John Duns Scotus born and when did he die?
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Where is John Duns Scotus buried?
Where was John Duns Scotus born?
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Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of John Duns Scotus
Undiscovered Scotland - Biography of John Duns Scotus
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of John Duns Scotus

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Blessed John Duns Scotus

Scottish philosopher and theologian

Also known as: Doctor Subtilis, Joannes Duns Scotus

Written by

Allan Bernard Wolter

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Author of The Transcendentals and Their Function in the Metaphysics of Duns Scotus.

Allan Bernard Wolter

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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026 •History

Blessed John Duns Scotus (born c. 1266, Duns, Lothian [now in Scottish Borders], Scotland—died November 8, 1308, Cologne [Germany]; beatified March 20, 1993) was an influential Franciscan realist philosopher and Scholastic theologian who pioneered the classical defense of the doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was conceived without original sin (the Immaculate Conception). He also argued that the Incarnation of Christ was not dependent on the fact that humanity had sinned, that will is...