Late Scholasticism

Historical Context and Periodization

Late Scholasticism refers to the final phase of the scholastic tradition in philosophy and theology, conventionally dated from the mid‑14th century to the mid‑17th century. Rather than ending abruptly with the late Middle Ages, scholastic thought persisted and evolved through the Renaissance, the Reformation, and into the early modern period, often in tension with emerging humanist and scientific movements.

Historians sometimes distinguish:

• a “late medieval” scholasticism (c. 1350–1500), marked by the impact of William of Ockham and the via moderna (the “modern way” in logic and metaphysics), and
• a “Second Scholasticism” or Baroque Scholasticism (c. 1550–1650), centered especially in Iberian and Jesuit contexts, which revived and systematized Thomistic and Scotist doctrines in response to the Reformation and to new global, legal, and scientific questions.

These phases unfolded in universities and religious orders across Paris, Oxford, Cologne, Salamanca, Coimbra, Padua, Louvain, and elsewhere. Late scholastics worked within institutional settings increasingly shaped by papal centralization, religious conflict, and state-building, while also engaging classical texts newly available through humanist scholarship.

Key Themes and Methods

Late scholastics largely preserved the scholastic method, characterized by:

• close commentary on authoritative texts (especially Aristotle, the Sentences of Peter Lombard, and works of earlier schoolmen),
• disputations structured by quaestiones (questions) and responsiones (replies),
• precise logical analysis, and
• careful distinction-making.

At the same time, they adapted this method to new concerns.

1. Metaphysics and ontology

Late scholastic metaphysics refined earlier debates about:

• universals (realism vs. nominalism),
• the analogy of being (analogia entis),
• the structure of substance and accidents, and
• causality and divine concurrence.

Ockham-inspired nominalists emphasized the priority of individual substances and the mental status of universals, while Thomists and Scotists defended sophisticated realist or moderate realist accounts. Discussions of efficient causation, conservation, and concurrence would later inform early modern debates on causality and occasionalism.

2. Epistemology and logic

Late scholastic logic (often called “terminist” or “suppositional” logic) explored the semantics of terms, propositions, and mental language. The theory of mental propositions (propositiones in mente) and of supposition (how a term stands for things) became highly technical.

At the same time, scholars examined:

• the nature and limits of scientific knowledge (scientia),
• the role of intuition and abstraction,
• the status of probable reasoning, especially in moral and legal contexts.

These inquiries fed into emerging notions of evident vs. probable beliefs and influenced later conceptions of method in natural philosophy and jurisprudence.

3. Natural philosophy and emerging science

Although often portrayed as opposed to science, many late scholastics actively engaged with new astronomical, physical, and mathematical findings. Some:

• reinterpreted Aristotelian physics in light of impetus theories and observational data,
• debated the status of mathematics in natural explanation, and
• discussed the legitimacy of hypothetical models in astronomy.

Jesuit authors in particular produced influential textbooks in natural philosophy that would be read across Europe, even by early modern thinkers who would later reject key scholastic principles.

4. Ethics, politics, and law

Late scholastics made major contributions to moral theology, political theory, and legal philosophy. Central themes included:

• elaboration of natural law and natural rights theories,
• analysis of just war, tyrannicide, and the legitimacy of political authority,
• evaluation of economic practices such as interest, taxation, and trade,
• reflection on the moral status of indigenous peoples and colonial expansion.

These discussions intertwined theological premises with increasingly systematic accounts of rights, obligations, and sovereignty, influencing later secular theories of law and the state.

Major Figures and Traditions

Late Scholasticism was not a single school but a constellation of traditions within a shared intellectual framework.

1. Thomism

Thomism continued the work of Thomas Aquinas, emphasizing:

• the real distinction between essence and existence,
• the primacy of analogy in language about God,
• a strong natural law ethic, and
• a synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine.

In the late period, Thomism was developed by authors such as:

• Cajetan (Tommaso de Vio), whose commentaries on Aquinas and Aristotle were influential,
• Dominican theologians at Salamanca and other centers, who helped shape Catholic orthodoxy at the Council of Trent.

2. Scotism

Scotism, following John Duns Scotus, stressed:

• the formal distinction in metaphysics,
• the univocity of being,
• the primacy of the will in God and humans.

Late Scotists elaborated complex accounts of individuation, divine ideas, and the Incarnation. Their subtle metaphysics remained influential in Franciscan and other circles.

3. Nominalism and the via moderna

Building on the earlier work of William of Ockham, late nominalists (often associated with the via moderna) emphasized:

• ontological parsimony,
• the mental and linguistic nature of universals,
• the absolute freedom of God’s will, with implications for laws of nature and morality.

This stream shaped debates on law, covenant, and obligation, and some historians connect it with shifts toward a more voluntarist understanding of morality and political authority.

4. Jesuit and Iberian scholasticism (Second Scholasticism)

From the mid‑16th century, the Second Scholasticism flourished especially in Spain and Portugal, and within the Society of Jesus. Key figures include:

• Francisco de Vitoria, who applied scholastic natural law to issues of international relations, war, and the treatment of indigenous peoples;
• Francisco Suárez, whose Disputationes Metaphysicae systematized metaphysics independently of theology and influenced Protestant as well as Catholic thinkers;
• Domingo de Soto, Luis de Molina, and others, who debated grace and free will, economic justice, and political power.

These thinkers produced comprehensive treatises used in universities across confessional lines, contributing to early modern discussions of sovereignty, rights, and international law.

Legacy and Assessment

Late Scholasticism has often been viewed, particularly in older historiography, as a decadent or overly technical phase of medieval thought, soon to be superseded by Renaissance humanism and modern philosophy. Critics contend that:

• its intricate distinctions obscured rather than clarified issues,
• its institutional ties to church and confession limited intellectual freedom,
• its adherence to Aristotelian frameworks impeded the development of new science.

However, more recent scholarship emphasizes its continuity and contribution to early modern intellectual life. Proponents argue that:

• late scholastics provided crucial conceptual tools (e.g., refined theories of causation, rights, and law),
• their textbooks shaped the education of many early modern thinkers,
• they engaged, often creatively, with new empirical findings and political realities.

The period thus appears less as a simple endpoint of medieval thought and more as a bridge to early modern philosophy, law, and science. Late Scholasticism represents a sustained attempt to articulate a comprehensive, rational account of reality, ethics, and society in a time of profound religious and cultural transformation. Its influence can be traced in the works of figures as diverse as Grotius, Descartes, and later neo‑scholastic revivals, ensuring its ongoing relevance in the history of philosophy.