Speculative and Practical Theology in the Second Scholasticism: Melchor Cano (c. 1507–1560)

Abstract

This article reviews the principal theological doctrines of Melchor Cano, perhaps the greatest dogmatic theologian of the Second Scholasticism. His De locis theologicis marked a watershed in the definition of theology as the ‚fundamental science,‘ and his writings on morals attest to the practical sense of the Salamanca theological school. Since theology is both speculative and practical, this paper deals with the main aspects of Cano’s theoretical and moral theology, namely, his doctrine of theological places, his vindication of the Indian’s freedom and political power, his teaching about the distinction between natural and positive law, and Cano’s conception of the right of war.