Fides et ratio
Fides et ratio

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary According to John Duns Scotus

Summary/Abstract: When Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in 1854, he ended a theological debate on this question centuries long. The well known Medieval Franciscan thinker John Duns Scotus offered one of the most important theological contributions to defend the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Because of the universality of Christ’s redemptive work and the universality of original sin, the opposite opinion prevailed among theologians during his life. The aim of this paper is to examine Scotus’s solution to this Marian question in the context of the Medieval debate on it. First, the most serious theological objections to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary are presented, as well as Scotus’s response to them. In the analysis of Scot’s solution, the emphasis is on his famous argument potuit, decuit, ergo fecit. Final remarks on his solution, including critical ones, are presented in the conclusion and its significance for the formulation of dogma is evaluated.

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