Mary Beth Ingham — John Duns Scotus: Four Theological Insights that Change Everything

What if the Incarnation wasn’t primarily about fixing our sin but about God’s extravagant desire to become one with all creation? What if beauty isn’t just something we admire—it’s the heartbeat of reality, calling us to slow down, receive gifts, and respond with hope in a fractured world? Franciscan friar and philosopher Blessed John Duns Scotus (1265/66-1308), known as the “Subtle Doctor,” is one of the most underappreciated major theologians throughout Church history. His complexity also makes him one of the most misunderstood. Scholars like Dr. Mary Beth Ingham have helped make his theology accessible to people all around the world. This episode explores four important theological insights from Scotus that can impact our approach to life and faith today:

• Scotus’s mystical vision of beauty as a transformative encounter with God’s abundant love (and why it’s a lifeline in our attention-overloaded, reactive culture).
• His profound take on free choice and thoughtful self-restraint—rooted in our innate dignity and perfect for today’s conversations on sustainability, poverty, and genuine freedom.
• The revolutionary Franciscan view of the Incarnation (the absolute primacy of Christ)—shifting the focus from sin at the center to God’s loving initiative at the heart of everything.
• The wonder of haecceity (“thisness”)—the unique, unrepeatable gift of every person, rock, leaf, and moment—and how it invites us to celebrate particularity in community.

Mary Beth Ingham, CSJ, is Professor Emerita in Loyola Marymount University’s philosophy department and is a former professor of philosophical theology at the Franciscan School of Theology. She holds a doctorate in medieval philosophy from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and has published widely on the thought of Blessed John Duns Scotus. Her recent publications include: Scotus for Dunces: An Introduction to the Subtle Doctor (2003), Rejoicing in the Works of the Lord: Beauty in the Franciscan Tradition (2009), and The Harmony of Goodness: Mutuality and Moral Living in John Duns Scotus (2012). In her current research, she argues that the spirituality of beauty is at the heart of the Franciscan intellectual tradition.

The show notes are available here.

(00:00:01) Introduction

(00:05:58) Who was Blessed John Duns Scotus?

(00:16:37) First Insight: Mystical Vision of Beauty

(00:30:09) First Reflection: Beauty and the Beholder

(00:31:55) Second Insight: Free Choice and Thoughtful Self-Restraint

(00:47:28) Second Reflection: Covenant as a Pathway to Freedom

(00:49:10) Third Insight: A Franciscan Approach to the Incarnation

(01:04:59) Third Reflection: Psychological Implications of the Incarnation

(01:07:29) Fourth Insight: Haecceity (Thinness)

(01:13:04) Fourth Reflection: The Sound of the Genuine

(01:15:26) Final Thoughts

(01:18:17) Conclusion