Pratiques d'enseignement et orthodoxie intellectuelle en milieu jésuite (deuxième moitié du XVIe siècle)

Abstract

This paper studies the Jesuit Order (founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540) as a new religious order dedicated to teaching in the European context of the Counter Reformation, and analyzes how the constitution of an intellectual orthodoxy is conceived by the Jesuits as part of their universal apostolate. This case study shows that a request for a precise definition of orthodoxy emerges in the face of the theological and philosophical «novelties» which characterized the period. The rule expressed by the Constitutions that «the most certain and most widely approved doctrine will be followed» is no longer sufficient to maintain the spiritual unity of this group which feels its identity threatened. One central normative text is the Ratio studiorum, the result of an extensive dialogue within the Order. Written between 1580 and 1599, it responds first of all to the internal need to clarify what may and may not be taught. The three versions of this document and the various proposals made by the different actors within the institution (professors, provincial congregations, etc.), make it possible to study the institutional mechanisms by which an intellectual orthodoxy is defined and maintained. Under Claudio Aquaviva's direction, the text of the Ratio is composed, and it includes detailed teaching programs. Instead of promoting the publication of a list with the forbidden teaching propositions (such a list could be increased indefinitely), he decides to create an internal censorship. I argue that such a creation throws light on the process of negotiation between «seekers of orthodoxy» and «producers of norms», a process in which the rejection of innovation also requires the production of new ideas.