The Legacy of Suárez – Interview with the Author Jean‑Paul Coujou

18 june 2026

Why devote a book today to Francisco Suárez, a sixteenth-century theologian and philosopher? In The Legacy of Suárez: Politics, History and Metaphysics, Jean-Paul Coujou shows that one of the most influential thinkers of modernity remains paradoxically one of the least known. In this interview, he reflects on the reasons behind this intellectual inquiry and on the surprising relevance of a body of thought that continues to illuminate our debates about power, law, and life in society.

Q. Your book is devoted to Francisco Suárez. What led you to this author?

Jean-Paul Coujou: I have always been struck by a paradox. Suárez is one of the most influential thinkers of modern Europe, yet his name remains largely absent from the usual accounts of the history of philosophy. We often move directly from Thomas Aquinas to Descartes or Hobbes, as though nothing essential had happened in between. Yet Suárez occupies precisely this pivotal position in which concepts were developed that would profoundly shape modernity. To understand his work is to better understand our own intellectual heritage.

Q. The title refers to the “legacy” of Suárez. Why did you choose this approach?

J.-P. C.: Because the influence of a thinker is sometimes more revealing than the doctrine itself. I wanted to trace the destiny of certain ideas and observe how they were adopted, transformed, or challenged by subsequent generations. When one sees echoes of Suárez in Grotius, Hobbes, Leibniz, Rousseau, or even Heidegger, one realizes the extent to which his thought has nourished very different philosophical worlds.

Q. You show that politics and metaphysics are closely linked. This idea may seem surprising today.

J.-P. C.: That is precisely one of the book’s key themes. We have become accustomed to separating political questions from more fundamental inquiries into human nature. Yet whenever we reflect on justice, freedom, authority, or the common good, we always presuppose a certain idea of the human being and of humanity’s place in the world. Metaphysics is not an abstract speculation detached from reality; it influences the way we think about society and collective action.

Q. How can Suárez still be of interest to a twenty-first-century reader?

J.-P. C.: Because he helps us gain perspective on notions that we take for granted. Consider sovereignty, human rights, or international relations: these concepts have a history. They did not emerge spontaneously. Suárez contributed to their development in a context of profound political and cultural transformations. Revisiting that period helps us better understand contemporary debates and, at times, their dead ends as well.

Q. Your book gives significant attention to the law of nations. Why do you consider this theme essential?

J.-P. C.: Because it raises a question that remains highly relevant: how can coexistence among different peoples be organized without abandoning the idea of justice? Suárez reflects on a political order that transcends the particular interests of states. Of course, circumstances have changed, but the questions remain. In a world marked by conflicts, migration, and economic interdependence, these reflections acquire a striking contemporary relevance.

Q. In the course of your research, did you discover a Suárez different from the one usually presented?

J.-P. C.: Yes. He is sometimes reduced to a theologian or a metaphysician. Yet he also appears as a thinker of history, political community, and human action. What interests me especially is his ability to articulate domains that we tend to separate: law, politics, morality, and metaphysics. This comprehensive vision gives his thought remarkable depth.

Q. Which chapter do you think is most likely to surprise readers?

J.-P. C.: Perhaps those devoted to authors whose proximity to Suárez is not immediately obvious. Discovering certain connections with Leibniz, Schopenhauer, or Heidegger invites us to reread the history of modern philosophy in a different light. We then uncover intellectual continuities that often remain invisible.

Q. What would you like readers to take away after finishing this book?

J.-P. C.: I would like them to understand that the major political questions of our time possess considerable historical and philosophical depth. We often live in the urgency of current events. Philosophy reminds us that the most contemporary problems are also the result of a long intellectual history. Returning to Suárez is not about looking to the past out of nostalgia; it is about better understanding the foundations of our present so that we may envision the future more clearly.

This book is available in French.

→ Discover and purchase the book in digital or print format.