| dc.description.abstract | This work aims at developing a first in-depth analysis about the topic of negation within the
philosophical and theological production of John Duns Scotus. This research has been
carried out resorting to two different approaches: (i) keeping a rigorous historical and
critical analysis of the writings while (ii) deploying recent conceptual tools, unbound to the
medieval speculation. The thesis is structured in two sections and five chapters according
to a chronological and thematic criterion, hence the first section is devoted to Scotus’ Parva
logicalia. (I) The first chapter displays both the historiographical and conceptual frame which
upholds the following analyses. (II) The topics of syntax and semantics of negative
expressions are then explored, endorsing a compositional approach over the complexity of
the linguistic items involved; (III) the understanding of negation as an instance of relation
is then addressed, specifically dealing with the concept of ‘opposition’. The second section
is instead concerned with some latter writings, such as the commentaries on the Metaphysics
and on the Libri Sententiarum, and pivots around the metatheoretical criterion of
‘asimmetricalism’. The specific instances of (IV) negative knowledge and (V) fictitious
beings are in fact developed in the last chapters, showing both the limits and the power of
Scotus’ asymmetricalistic claims. In conclusion, the work shows how negation is involved
in several crucial aspects of Scotus’ philosophical and theological system, sometimes
leading to inconsistencies. The concept of repugnantia, in particular, plays a fundamental
role although being more than often highly problematic. [edited by Author] | it_IT |
