살라망카 학파의 자연법론

Abstract

The natural law theory has played a leading role in the discourse of legal philosophy. The theological natural law theory dominated the world of the Middle Ages including mediaeval legal philosophy. But it was obliged to hand over the initiative to classical natural law theory along with the Reformation. The main theses of theological natural law theory arranged by Thomas Aquinas has not been discarded, but modified and accepted into classical natural law theory. In the process of transition, it was the School of Salamanca that played the role of stepping-stone. The School of Salamanca refers the group of Iberian scholastics of the 16th and early 17th century that were, more or less loosely, associated with the University of Salamanca. The Dominican Thomist Francisco de Vitoria(c.1483-1546) and the Jesuit Francisco Suárez(1548-1617) are the most famous representatives of the School. The understanding of the natural law theory of the School carries an important meaning of the philosophy of law. Because the School of Salamanca built a bridge between mediaeval theological natural law theory and classical natural law theory. So, it is necessary to understand of the natural law theory of the School in order to comprehend the origin and development of classical natural law theory. And the scholars of legal philosophy will find another clues to the main issues from the legal thought of Vitoria and Suárez. Hypothetically speaking, there is no Grotius without the School of Salamanca. Nevertheless, the natural law theory of the School of Salamanca can be described as the legal philosophy of transition between the Middle Ages and the Modern Ages.