Introductory Reflections on Scholastic Economic Thought. From the Thomistic Approach to the Franciscans

This essay provides a general overview of the development of economic theories in 13th and 14th centuries in the light of the latest studies and offers new perspectives for future investigations. Scholasticism is a milestone in the history of Western philosophy as well as its contribution to scientific method and innovation. At the end of the Middle Ages, the ideal of shared norms and values clashes with the tensions of commercial transformation. In this historical framework - characterized not only by an unprecedented international trade and new financial institutions but also by a sort of proto-empiricism - the philosophical speculation tries to find a unitary "way of knowledge" between the legitimacy of individual interests and the primacy of general principles. This interdisciplinary effort is based on the innovative interpretation of theology, (natural) philosophy, Roman and Canon law such as local customary rules applied to the emergent economic issues.