a propos certain remarks made yesterday by someone known to me to the effect that Scotus invented the formal distinction out of nothing and that it is a monstrous, horrible doctrine, I offer the following comments of M. Grajewski from p.123 of his book on the said distinction. They come at the end of a chapter entitled "The Traditional Formal Distinction" in which he details thinkers from the fathers to others of Scotus's own time who held similar views.
"Undoubtedly further research will reveal other proponents of the formal distinction before the time of Duns Scotus. With the publishing of more works of authors belonging to the Augstino-bonaventurian tradition in philosophy and theology, a more complete list of these Formalists will be an obvious consequence. Unil that is done, it is hoped that the present survey adequately substantiates the assertion of the existence of such a pre-Scotistic tendency and totally exonerates Duns Scotus from the abusive title: "Innovator!"
2 comments:
Gonsalvus certainly has something similar if not exactly the same. I'll post on that when I get to it.
Pietro Olivi, isn't he.
LK
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