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Spanish Catholic ethicist (1589?1669)
Antonio Escobar y Mendoza
Antonio Escobar y Mendoza
(1589 – 4 July 1669) was the leading
ethicist
of his time.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born at
Valladolid
in
Castile
, he was educated by
Jesuits
before entering this order, aged fifteen.
[1]
He soon became a famous preacher, and his facility was so great that for fifty years he preached daily, and sometimes twice a day. Above all he was a prodigious writer: his collected works comprise eighty-three volumes. Escobar's first literary efforts were
Latin
verses in praise of
Ignatius Loyola
(1613) and
Mary
(1618), but his principal works focus on
exegesis
and
moral theology
. Of the latter the best-known are
Summula casuum conscientiae
(1627),
Liber theologiae moralis
(1644) and
Universae theologiae moralis problemata
(1652?1666).
[1]
He used to employ the most popular ethical method called
casuistry
, analyzing real situations rather than strict rules.
Escobar's
Summula
received criticism, especially in the
Jansenist
Blaise Pascal
's
Provincial Letters
.
[2]
Pascal coined the famous maxim that purity of intention may be a justification of actions which are in themselves contrary to the moral code and to human laws, and its general tendency is to find excuses for human weakness.
[1]
Escobar's doctrines were also disapproved by some
Catholics
, however he was very appreciated by the mainstream
[
citation needed
]
.
Moliere
subjected Escobar to ridicule in his customary witty style, and Escobar was also the target of criticism by
Boileau
and
La Fontaine
[
citation needed
]
. By the 18th and in the 19th century, in
France
the name
Escobar
had become synonymous with "adroitness in making the rules of morality harmonize with self-interest".
[1]
Although Escobar is commented as having followed simple habits in his personal life, being a strict adherent to the rules of the
Society of Jesus
,
[3]
it was for his zealous efforts to reform the lives of others he was rebuked. It was said that Escobar "purchased Heaven expensively for himself, but gave it away cheaply to others".
[4]
Escobar died at Valladolid in 1669, following which, ten years later,
Pope Innocent XI
publicly condemned his sixty-five sentences, as well as teachings of other ethical authorities, for being
propositiones laxorum moralistarum
; nonetheless, it was a criticism towards few judgements and not the scholar in general.
[5]
See also
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References
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