This study gives the first English translation of  Lectura I 39, a key text of the medieval theologian and  philosopher John Duns Scotus (1266--1308), together with an  introduction and a commentary. In the history of thought, Scotus is  the first scholar to develop a consistent analysis of the basic  Christian notions of  contingency and freedom. This  analysis can be found in his important early work, Lectura I 39,  in which the question of whether God has knowledge of future  contingents is discussed. Reality is contingent, which means that  reality in its factual shape could have been otherwise; God does not  rule by determinism nor is He ruled by it -- nor is man, neither is  their relationship. This fundamental insight made Christian thought  turn away from the ancient conception that everything is (at bottom)  necessary.   For graduate students, philosophers and theologians.

Contingency and Freedom: John Duns Scotus Lectura I 39 PDF

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