Statue of Francisco Sanches - Braga

The statue of Francisco Sanches was inaugurated on March 13, 1955 and donated by the State to the city of Braga as a tribute to Francisco Sanches.

It is located in Largo de São João do Souto , next to the Church of São João do Souto , where he was baptized on July 25, 1551 (he was a converted Jew).

Francisco Sanches was a philosopher, mathematician and physician who was probably born in 1550 or 1551 in the diocese of Braga and died at the age of 72, probably on 16 November 1622 or 1623. Nicknamed the "Sceptic" , he challenged the philosophy of Aristotle and the supposed knowledge of scholasticism ("often based on assumptions that were not critically examined"), demonstrated the fallibility of the testimony of the senses, denounced the ineffectiveness of traditional methods and attempted to define his own ideal of knowledge.

Sanches argued that true knowledge is impossible . In his major work, Quod Nihil Scitur ("That Nothing Is Known", 1581), he argued that man can never fully know reality, because our senses and reason are limited and fallible. He did believe in a methodical approach to better understanding the world. This made him a forerunner of modern scientific thinking.

The bronze statue, designed by sculptor Salvador Barata Feyo , represents Francisco Sanches with a small head and an accentuated body that stands out because of his clothes, one arm over his chest and the other fallen, holding a book . It stands on a rectangular granite base with an inscription that reads "FRANCISCO SANCHES 1551 - 1623 PHILOSOPHER MEDICIAN MATHEMATICAL". On either side of the base are two rectangular granite supports with inscriptions that pay tribute to his work and evoke the memory of Francisco Sanches.

Willem Vandenameele