Franciscan Studies

BOOK REVIEWS511 VAscesa a Dio in Duns Scoto. By Father Efrem Bettoni, O.F.M. (Publicazioni dell'Universitd Cattolica Del S. Cuore. Serie Prima: Scienze Filosofiche , vol. 27). Milan: Società Editrice "Vita e Pensiero," 1943. Pp. vii, 122. Many of the valuable studies published abroad during the war are now available to students of this country. Among such books that deserve special mention is Bettoni's study on the Scotistic approach to the existence of God. His work takes up many a controversial issue among Scotists regarding Scotus' natural theology. The first chapter is devoted to Scotus attitude toward the argument from motion. For anyone familiar with the criticism of St. Thomas's prima et manifestior via both within and without the Thomistic school, this chapter will prove of especial interest. Like Paulus, Bettoni believes that the opposition between St. Thomas and Scotus has been exaggerated. First of all, both of these scholastics challenge the Averroistic exclusivism which regards physics alone as competent to prove God's existence. They agree, therefore, in attributing this task primarily to metaphysics. St. Thomas, however, tends to favor the argument from motion far more than Scotus does, principally because he understands Aristotle to be speaking of motion in a metaphysical sense. Scotus, on the contrary, understood motion according to the astrophysical Averroistic interpretation it had in his day. Hence the Subtle Doctor levels certain criticisms against the argument though he does not reject it entirely, contrary to what Chossat, Borgmann and others maintain. The weakness of the argument from motion lies in its inability to transcend the physical order. Hence it is inferior to the metaphysical arguments and, of itself, cannot give a true picture of God. Consequently, Scotus does not bother with developing the kineseological proof, but turns to the more fruitful field of metaphysics. According to Bettoni, Scotus maintains the essential validity of the Averroistic-Aristotelian approach and affirms his belief in the validity of the principle, "Omne quod movetur ab alio movetur." His analysis of this principle according to Scotus, seems to us to be rather weak. This controversial point, we believe, merits further study. Bettoni differs from Paulus, however, in insisting that while it may be true that the formulation of the argument from motion in the Summa theologica oí St. Thomas can be interpreted in a metaphysical sense, it is also quite true that it is open to a physical interpretation. In view of the tendencies of the times, it is easy to understand how even Thomistic interpreters, such as Cajetan, could see the argument from motion in that light. Scotus would have no difficulty, Bettoni declares, in accepting the argument in a metaphysical setting. Hence there is an essential unanimity of the two great scholastics on this question. In his second chapter Bettoni takes up another controversial question, namely whether or not Scotus admitted the Anselmian argument or was influenced to any great degree by it. He disagrees with Beimond, Borgmann, and others, who restrict the "coloratio" of the Anselmian argument to the problem of God's infinity and declare it is not involved in Scotus' proof for God's existence. Scotus, he argues, admits the validity of an inference of God's actual existence from the possibility of such existence, but he differs 512BOOK REVIEWS from St. Anselm in this that he demands that this possibility of existence be rigorously demonstrated and not merely taken for granted. Since an a priori demonstration of this possibility is out of the question for us in our present state of existence, Scotus has recourse to an a posteriori demonstration.. St. Anselm's mistake, then, was to regard his proof as a priori. Interesting as is Father Bettoni's interpretation, we wonder if he has not overlooked the technical meaning of "colorado." (See for instance, P. Boehner 's commentary on the Nature and Origins of Scientism in Franciscan Studies, V (1945), p. 314). In discussing the metaphysical proof for God's existence, Bettoni has occasion to correct some of the misconceptions of Gilson in regard to Scotus' natural theology. Readers will find chapters four and five interesting. The former gives a critical evaluation of the proof selected by Scotus. The latter...