Abstract

In this delightful and handy introduction, Professor Richard Cross of Oriel College, Oxford University, has provided students, researchers, and general readers with a guided tour to the theology of John Duns Scotus. Written in a direct and concise style, the volume allows readers to follow Scotuss rather sophisticated argumentation with remarkable ease. As Cross himself remarks in his preface to the volume, his intention is to construct an overview of Scotuss theological thought for the ordinary reader who is correctly presumed to be more acquainted with the ideas of Thomas Aquinas than with Scotuss immediate historical interlocutors: Henry of Ghent, Godfrey of Fontaines, and Giles of Rome. Yet, in a manner that can only be described as enviable, Cross strikes the proper balance between losing the salient elements of Scotuss doctrines in a welter of details bearing on historical background and failing to give enough historical and systematic context to render Scotuss nuanced objections and counterpositions intelligible. Indeed, what Cross manages to do is to give an accurate though perforce brief sketch of the relevant dialectical setting for Scotuss major theological teachings. Furthermore, since Aquinas is kept to the forefront for most of the comparisons drawn, the average reader will find the book a quite useful guide for further study of Scotuss texts. Altogether the volume must be accounted a major success, as it brings much of the recent historical scholarship on Scotuss theology into dialogue with contemporary discussions in the philosophy of religion.