Speaking of God in the Theology of Duns Scotus With a View to the Influence of Avicenna

Document Type : Scholarly Article

Author

Assistant Professor of Epistemology Department/ IICT

Abstract

This Paper deals with the thinking of Duns Scotus on "speaking of God". This issue in the field of contemporary knowledge is located in the subject "language of religion". He, under influence of Islamic important philosopher Avicenna and on the basis of univocation of “being”, believes to the language of univocation in speaking of God. Scotus discusses the issue of speaking of God, in the division of human knowledge to natural and supernatural knowledge. He regards the concept of "infinite being" as most complete concept that human can have from God in the stage of natural (rational) knowledge and by means of it he can speak of God. But according to Scotus, the true knowledge (i.e. the knowledge that lacks the deficiency and ambiguity) to God and other issues like trinity, incarnation and … in Christianity, is possible only by means of the supernatural (reveled) knowledge. So he pursues a fideist approach in these issues, although he affirms argumentation and demonstration to – and hence speaking of– some revealed data about God. A comparison of viewpoints of Scotus and Avicenna in the supernatural knowledge will show their similarities and differences in rationalism and possibility of speaking of revealed truth.

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References

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