The The arguments of John Duns Scotus in defence of Mary’s Immaculate Conception

This article aims to specify the theoretical approaches through which the conspicuous Scottish Franciscan theologian John Duns Scotus (c.1265/66–1308) became the leader of the defenders of the belief in the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception. The article is structured in two parts. The first relates summarily the authors and works that have dealt with Duns Scotus’s doctrine on Mary’s Immaculate Conception to a greater or lesser extent. The second part (much more critical) develops Duns Scotus’s arguments to defend the belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. In this sense, the author of the article exposes step by step the argumentative structure of the Scottish theologian, based on the traditional model of medieval Scholasticism, namely: first, he exposes and refutes the arguments and objections of the deniers of Mary’s Immaculate Conception; then he subtly explains his personal arguments with which he supports his fervent defence of the thesis of the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception.