Domingo de Soto

Who was Domingo de Soto?

Domingo de Soto was a Dominican priest and Scholastic theologian born in Segovia, Spain, and died in Salamanca at the age of 66. He is best known as one of the major figures of the philosophical movement known as the School of Salamanca, together with Francisco de Vitoria.

Trained in Alcalá, Spain, and Paris, France, before being made professor of Philosophy at Alcalá in 1520, he left academia to join the Dominicans and returned to take the chair of theology at Salamanca University in 1532. He is best known in economic theory and theological circles for his writings defending the price differential in usury as compatible with "just price" from the perspective of the Thomists.

He held powerful positions including Confessor of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the emperor's representative at the Council of Trent.

In the 20th century, Pierre Duhem credited him with important achievements in dynamics and also viewed him as a forerunner of modern mechanics.