Related Terms • Jesuits • Samuel von Pufendorf

Name:
Francisco Suarez

Dates:
Born: January 5, 1548 at Granada
Died: September 25, 1617 in Lisbon, Portugal

Specialization:
Political Philosophy
Theology
Thomism
Scholasticism

Biography:
Francisco Suarez was a theologian and political philosopher who, trained by Jesuits and educated at Salamanca, would become one of the last representatives of scholasticism and one of the staunchest defenders of the power and authority of the Catholic Church.

The latter issue was very important for Suarez because, during the 16th century, the Church was quickly losing power across society. Filling the vacuum for the most part was the state itself and, in part to justify their assertions of authority, many secular rulers began to buy into the doctrine known as the Divine Right of Kings. Suarez believed that this doctrine threatened both church and state, objecting to the idea that there was anything sacred whatsoever invested in secular rulers.

Suarez presaged other political philosophers like Grotius and Pufendorf, arguing that because spiritual power is more important than temporarl power, the church is more important than the state. That does not mean that the church does or should have unrestricted power in the world while the power of the state itself is restricted by the fact that such power is deirved wholly from God, meaning that all secular law is subbordinate to divine law (invariably defined and explained by the church).

Also Known As: none

Alternate Spellings: none

Common Misspellings: none

Related Resources:

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