John Duns Scotus

Timeline

1. c. 1288–1301Oxford · OxfordshireAround 1288 he entered the Franciscan order and studied theology at Oxford University, lecturing on commentaries on the Sentences from the 1290s. During this period he formed his core arguments on individuation, will, and being, laying the foundation for his later Parisian disputes.
2. 1301–1307Paris · Île-de-FranceAround 1301 he went to teach at the University of Paris; in 1303–1304 he briefly left France due to political turmoil connected with King Philip IV of France. After returning in 1304 he continued lecturing and wrote works such as the Oxford Report, forming a sharp contrast with the tradition of Thomas Aquinas by emphasizing the priority of the will and the principle of individuation.
3. 1307–1308Cologne · RhinelandIn 1307 he was sent to Cologne to continue teaching and to complete his final works, including the Paris Report. He died suddenly in Cologne on 8 November 1308 and was buried in the Cologne Franciscan church. The spread of his ideas through his students and manuscripts made Scotus's thought widely known in European universities in the 14th and 15th centuries.