Scotus on Absolute Power and Knowledge
Abstract
In Rep. exam. I d. 44 q. 1, Scotus offers a discussion, unique within his work, of cases in which a traditional account of scientific knowledge of nature is transformed into a knowledge "as in most cases" (ut in pluribus). Underlying this particular model of scientific knowledge is an account of God’s omnipotence and absolute power. With the aim of explaining this model, this study explores certain fundamental theoretical elements of Rep. exam. I d. 44 q. 1, i.e., definitions of divine omnipotence and absolute power, and Scotus's general theory of contingency, as well as the background context of contingency and divine scientia in Rep. exam. I d. 38-44. The stage is then set for the introduction of the idea of knowledge “as in most cases”, which Scotus had likely encountered in Analytica posteriore. Possible connections between omnipotence, absolute power, and knowledge ut in pluribus are then analyzed. Because Scotus's model of scientia ut in pluribus depends heavily on a critical view of the regularity of the movements of heavenly bodies, some notes on Scotus's cosmology are offered, as well as comparison between the scope of Scotus's “probable” knowledge of nature and Aristotle’s view of the same within many passages of his opera concerning the knowledge of physical universals.Downloads
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