Luis de Molina entered the world on the 29th of September 1535 within a noble and wealthy family in Castile. He learned Latin and literature at the Cathedral School of Cuenca before enrolling at the University of Salamanca.
Molinism is a distinctive theory developed by Luis de Molina to reconcile Augustinian doctrines with Renaissance ideals of free will. It maintains that God possesses scientia media or middle knowledge which allows Him to know future contingent events before they happen.
Tomas de Lemos violently attacked Luis de Molina after he expounded his theological views in Concordia. Domingo Báñez went so far as to denounce Molina to the Spanish Inquisition for these same views.
Luis de Molina discussed the diamond-water paradox while cogitating a theory of just price where utility did not matter. He stated that the just price of a pearl is higher than grain even if grain has superior utility according to his work De jure et Justitia.
Modern libertarians often reference the defense of human freedom against deterministic forces found in the works of Luis de Molina. His development of early economic principles regarding human action contributed to Austrian economic theory and shaped the evolution of modern libertarian thought over centuries.