John Duns Scotus on the person of Christ
One person in two natures, unconfused and undivided
THE POSITION
Chalcedonian two natures in one person. He is better known for a thesis about the Incarnation's motive: Christ was willed first and absolutely in the divine intention, so the Incarnation would have occurred without the fall. Redemption is then the occasion of the Incarnation rather than its cause.
WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONNo quotations. Scotus died in 1308 and the Latin is public domain, but the usable English translations are modern and in copyright, so these positions are paraphrased from standard scholarly accounts rather than reproduced.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
16 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Franciscan, the Subtle Doctor. Argued for the univocity of being and for a will free in its own right rather than moved by the intellect's judgment — the point where the Franciscan schools part from Aquinas.
Cite this page
"John Duns Scotus on the person of Christ", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/scotus/christology (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/scotus/christology).