Základné znaky metafyziky Jána Dunsa Scota (Basic characteristics of metaphysics according to John Duns Scotus)

Abstract

According to Aristotle and the majority of medieval philosophers and theologians metaphysics is based on the analogy of being. It is the only way between two extremes – univocity and equivocity. Univocity is unacceptable because it threatens transcendency of God and because the concept of being cannot be generic. Equivocity implies not only impossibility of knowledge of God, but also of knowledge in general. In spite of that John Duns Scotus based his metaphysics on univocity. He tried to prove, that univocity of being is the only possible way for philosophy, because analogy is just disguised equivocity. Analogy unites different meanings of the concept of being; according to Duns Scotus – different meanings imply more concepts. For the possibility of knowledge of God by means of creatures and of substance by means of accidents one concept of being is necessary.Problems connected with univocity were solved by Duns Scotus by introducing the primacy of universality and virtuality of the concept of being and formal and modal distinction.