Leonhardus Lessius

Leonard Lessius

De iustitia et iure , 1632

Leonhardus Lessius ( Lenaert Leys ; born October 1, 1554 in Brecht near Antwerp , † January 15, 1623 in Leuven ) was a Jesuit moral theologian during the Counter-Reformation . He is one of the scholastic masterminds of business ethics .

Life

In 1572 he joined the Jesuits. From 1574 he held various teaching posts. In 1580 he was ordained a priest in Arras . After theological studies in Rome under Francisco Suárez and Robert Bellarmin , he became a professor at the University of Leuven in 1585 , where he remained until 1600.

During his early years as a professor he was involved in the theological debate on topics of predestination and free will , which in 1587–88 resulted in the censorship of 34 of the tenets published in his “Theses theologicæ” (Lovania, 1586). He got into trouble with his order leadership . He could not break free from these entanglements throughout his life.

He became known to the general public through his work 'De iustitia et jure' from 1605, which had more than 20 editions in the 17th century alone. This is one of the first moral theological approaches to economic questions. Lessius went to Antwerp, which had developed into one of the world's leading economic centers, to find out how banking and trade work. The knowledge he acquired in the process gave particular weight to his moral theological approaches to this topic.

Lessius has strong ties to Luis de Molina in his work and work .

Works

De gratia efficaci

Theses theologicæ , Lovania, 1586
De Iustitia et Iure , Lovania, 1605
De justitia et de jure ceterisque virtuibus cardinalius libri quattor . (2 editions) Antwerp 1609
De Bono Statu eorum qui vovent ... , Colonia, 1615
De perfectionibus moribusque divinis , Amberes, 1620

swell

Michael Buchberger : LThK 1930
James Franklin: The Science of Conjecture: Evidence and Probability Before Pascal (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 244 f. and 287 f.
BT Gordon: Economic Analysis Before Adam Smith: Hesiod to Lessius (Macmillan, 1975).
Gerard Smith (Ed.): Jesuit Thinkers of the Renaissance , Milwaukee, Marquette Univ., 1939. pp. 133-155.
T. van Houdt, W. Decock: Leonardus Lessius: traditie en vernieuwing (Antwerp, Lessius Hogeschool, 2005)
Jesuitica - Personalia

literature

Walter Friedberger: Lessius, Leonhard. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 4, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-038-7 , Sp. 1551-1552. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Literature by and about Leonhardus Lessius in the catalog of the German National Library
Publications by and about Leonhardus Lessius in VD 17 .
The Jesuits and the spirit of Capitalism (PDF file; 52 kB)
Leonhardus Lessius at Manus online

Individual evidence

^ Wim Decock: Le marché du mérite: penser le droit et l'économie avec Léonard Lessius . Zones Sensibles, Brussels 2019, ISBN 978-2-930601-41-0 ( zones-sensibles.org [accessed July 18, 2020]).

personal data
SURNAME	Lessius, Leonhardus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Leys, Leonard; Less, Leonhard; Singletonus, Wilhelmus (pseudonym); Singletonus, Guilhelmus (pseudonym); Lessio, Leonardo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Jesuit and theologian
DATE OF BIRTH	October 1, 1554
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brecht near Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH	January 15, 1623
Place of death	Lions

[1] Wim Decock: Le marché du mérite: penser le droit et l'économie avec Léonard Lessius . Zones Sensibles, Brussels 2019, ISBN 978-2-930601-41-0 ( zones-sensibles.org [accessed July 18, 2020]).