John Duns Scotus on Election & predestination
Unconditional — grounded in God's free choice
THE POSITION
Predestination of the elect before any foreseen merit, on God's free choice. The account is asymmetrical: election is prior to foreseen merit, while reprobation takes account of foreseen demerit.
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.
18 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 Election & predestination", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/scotus/election (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/scotus/election).