c. 1265-c. 1308. Scottish monk, a leading
figure of medieval scholasticism. On many
points he turned against the orthodoxy of
Aquinas; for example, he rejected the idea of
a necessary world, favouring a concept of God
as absolute freedom capable of spontaneous
activity. The church rejected his ideas,
hence the word dunce. In the medieval
controversy over universals he advocated
nominalism. He belonged to the Franciscan
order, and was known as Doctor Subtilis.