El fundamento de la identidad Introducción a la noción de distinción formal en el beato Juan Duns Scoto

Abstract

The intention of this paper is to explain the notion of formal distinction, one of the fundamental doctrines of the Blessed John Duns Scotus, by trying to determine what is the speculative context in which the Subtle Doctor proposes such a notion. Avicenna’s doctrine, according to which a universal notion consists only on what it is, and that this absolute identity with itself is different from the universal character as such, constitutes the starting point to determine this context. Identity appears as the most straightforward way to introduce the problem of the Trinity, which constitutes the doctrinal context where Scotus proposes the formal non-identity as the most adequate manner to conceive the unity of the divine essence and the plurality of the divine persons, without implying a contradiction or a real distinction. The examination of identity brings us, at the same time, to consider the meaning of the notions of distinction, unity and plurality.