The Contributions of European Jesuits to Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Jesuit activity in the fields of the natural sciences manifest in the origins of the Society both as teachers and as missionaries. In particular, entomology, botany, meteorology, and geography attracted the attention of the early Jesuits. Always involved in scientific inquiry, the number of Jesuits today working in these fields has diminished tremendously. During the twentieth century though Jesuits established reputable institutions of agricultural education in both France and Spain. This article discusses the recent development of the discipline of ecology and other Jesuit contributions in the fields of agronomy, energy, economics, and social analysis.