This study is an attempt to clarify Peirce’s position as to the problem of universals by contrasting it with that of Duns Scotus. It aims to show that even thourgh Peirce claimed that he was following Scotus, there are certain marked differences between the two theories. The most important aspect of this, however, is the productive interplay between Peirce and scholastic realism, which yields some lines along which a certain "pragmatization" of the latter might be effected.