NEED HAS LONG BEEN FELT for a concise and simple exposition
of Duns Scotus' philosophical thought, in which the basic
principles of his system would be presented against their doc-
trinal background, and the characteristic features of his specu-
lation would be properly illustrated from the viewpoint of his
new and original philosophical synthesis.

Father Efrem Bettoni, professor of philosophy at Sacred
Heart University in Milan, and a recognized authority in the
field of Scotistic studies, has successfully answered this need.
His investigation of Duns Scotus' thought, which appears now
for the first time in English translation, is an excellent study
of the Scotistic system. In it clarity of exposition is matched
by deep and penetrating analysis. One could hardly ask for
a better presentation of the philosophy of Duns Scotus in a
work of the proportions of the present one.

In undertaking the translation of Father Bettoni's work,
I have had two main purposes in mind. First, to provide the
English-speaking student of philosophy with a subsidiary work
for a deeper knowledge of Duns Scotus' thought, which the
ordinary textbooks usually present in a very superficial and
inadequate way; second, to foster the study of one of the
greatest figures of scholastic philosophy. Duns Scotus well de-
serves the title of Doctor Subtilis, not only because of his ex-
act and penetrating distinctions, but most of all because of the
power of his mind and the depth of his doctrine.

In certain respects the present translation can be considered
an improvement upon the original Italian text. The chapters
on the life and works of Duns Scotus have been revised and
brought up to date in the light of recent studies and discoveries.
Each chapter has been divided into sections, and occasionally
the sections have been divided into paragraphs. All the refer-
ences have been carefully checked against Scotus' original

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