Pedro da Fonseca (; Proença-a-Nova, 1528 –

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, 4 November 1599) was a Portuguese

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. His work on

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

and

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

made him known in his time as the Portuguese

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

; he projected the ' Cursus Conimbricensis' realized by Manuel de Góis and others.

Biography

Pedro da Fonseca was born in Proença-a-Nova, Portugal, in 1528 and joined the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

in 1548. From 1551 to 1555 he studied and taught at the newly established

University of Évora A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Un ...

. In 1555 he returned to

, where he taught philosophy at the Colégio das Artes until 1561. From 1564 to 1571 he again worked in

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

, initially as professor of theology and later as chancellor of the university. He lived in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as a scholar and ecclesiastical administrator from 1572 to 1582. Fonseca's most important scholarly work was a commentary on Aristotle's ''

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

'' (4 vols., 1577–89). In logic, where his thinking was more closely aligned with

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

than with

scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and Ca ...

, his main publications were ''Institutionum Dialecticarum'' (1564), and ''Isagoge Philosophica'' (1591). Fonseca filled many important posts in his order, being assistant, for Portugal, to the general, visitor of Portugal, and superior of the professed house at Lisbon; while

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

and Philip II (from 1580 King of Portugal) employed him in affairs of the greatest delicacy and consequence. Fonseca used his influence wisely in promoting the interests of charity and learning. Many great institutions in Lisbon, notably the Irish college, owe their existence, at least in great part, to his zeal and piety. He is also credited with a considerable share in the drawing up of the Jesuit '' Ratio Studiorum''. But his greatest claim to lasting reputation lies in the fact that he first devised the solution, by his '' scientia media'' in God, of the perplexing problem of the reconciliation of

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

and

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

. Nevertheless his fame in this matter has been somewhat obscured by that of his disciple,

Luis de Molina Luis de Molina (29 September 1535 – 12 October 1600) was a Spanish Jesuit Catholic priest, jurist, economist and theologian renowned for his contributions to philosophy and economics within the framework of the second scholasticism. A ...

, who, having more fully developed and perfected the ideas of his master in his work ''Concordia Liberi Arbitrii cum Gratiæ Donis'', came gradually to be regarded as the originator of the doctrine.

Works

* ''Institutionum Dialecticarum''. Lisbon: 1564. * ''Commentariorum in Libros Metaphysicorum Aristotelis''. Rome: 1577. * ''Isagoge Philosophica.'' Lisbon: 1591.

Bibliography

Carlos Sommervogel Carlos Sommervogel (8 January 1834 – 4 March 1902) was a French Jesuit scholar. He was author of the monumental ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', which served as one of the major references for the editors of the Catholic Encyclo ...

, ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', III, 837; *

Augustin de Backer Augustin de Backer (18 July 1809 in Antwerp, Belgium – 1 December 1873 in Liège, Belgium) was a Belgian Jesuit and renowned bibliographer. Early years and Formation De Backer left his country to be educated at the Jesuit schools of Franc ...

, ''Bibliothèque des écrivains de la Compagnie de Jésus'', I, 313, VII, 239.

External links

Pedro da Fonseca’s Isagoge Philosophica and the Predicables from Boethius to the Lovanienses João Madeira
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070206071502/http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/CVC/filosofia/ren13.html Page on Instituto Camões (pt)*
Scholasticon
by Jacob Schmutz {{DEFAULTSORT:Fonseca 1528 births 1599 deaths 16th-century Portuguese Jesuits Portuguese philosophers Portuguese theologians Latin commentators on Aristotle People from Proença-a-Nova School of Salamanca

Biography

Works

Bibliography

See also

External links