Two Medieval Conceptions of the Finality of Nature: Duns Scotus and Chatton

  • Kamil Majcherek Jagiellonian University in Krakow, PhD student
Keywords: teleologia; przyczynowość celowa; filozofia natury; teologia naturalna; Duns Szkot; Chatton

Abstract

This article is seeks to outline several important themes of two medieval conceptions of final causality, whose authors are John Duns Scotus and Walter Chatton. The author focuses on three issues: (1) the arguments for natural teleology, (2) the ontological status of the end, (3) the status of God as a final cause. The aim of the analyses presented here is to show that many opinions presented by Duns Scotus and Chatton were undermining the previous scholastic vision of holistic teleology, which reached its most mature form in the thought of Thomas Aquinas — and in that way they have paved the way towards the modern critique of teleology.

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Published
2020-06-12
Section
Articles