Author

Francisco Suárez, S.J.

1548–1617

Francisco Suárez (born Jan. 5, 1548, Granada, Spain—died Sept. 25, 1617, Lisbon) was a Spanish theologian and philosopher, a founder of international law, often considered the most prominent Scholastic philosopher after St. Thomas Aquinas, and the major theologian of the Roman Catholic order, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The son of a wealthy lawyer, Suárez began the study of law in Salamanca in 1561 but left to join the Jesuits in 1564. From 1571 he taught philosophy, in 1580 becoming a theology instructor at the Jesuit college in Rome and later at Alcalá. In 1593 King Philip II of Spain appointed him to teach, and he eventually served as a professor at Coimbra (1597–1616). Holder of a doctorate from Évora (1597), Suárez was an exceptionally erudite and methodical scholar whose works, even in the incomplete Paris edition (1856–78), fill 28 volumes. His principal study in philosophy is the Disputationes Metaphysicae (1597), which was used for more than a century as a textbook at most European universities, Catholic and Protestant alike. In this work, which treats especially the problems of human will and the concept of general versus particular phenomena, Suárez drew upon Aristotle and Aquinas, although he took into consideration the criticisms of other Scholastic philosophers such as Duns Scotus (c. 1265–1308) of Britain and Luis de Molina (1535–1600) of Spain. His departures from Aquinas’ positions have been considered significant enough to warrant the separate designation of his system as Suárezianism.