Second scholasticism

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Second Scholasticism is a term applied to the revival of the scholastic system of philosophy in the 16th century. It arose partly as a reaction to the Protestant reformation which emphasised a return to the language of the Bible, and the Fathers of the Church. Second scholasticism was helped by the founding in 1540 of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) by Ignatius Loyola with the approval of Pope Paul III. Many of the leading scholastics of this period were Jesuits, such as Robert Bellarmine, Francisco Suarez, Gabriel Vásquez.

Second scholasticism declined with the beginning of the scientific revolution of the 17th century, although scholastics such as Suarez were influential for a long period.