He was an energetic popularizer noted for encouraging scientific and empirical thought in an effort to debunk myths and superstitions.

[2] A century later Alberto Lista said that a monument should be erected to Feijóo, at the foot of which all his works should be burned.

He was not a great genius, nor a writer of transcendent merit; his name is connected with no important discovery, but his literary style is clear and not without distinction.

He tried to uproot many popular errors, awakened an interest in scientific methods,[3] and is justly regarded as the initiator of educational reform in Spain.

[2] His two famous works, Teatro crítico universal (1726–1739) and Cartas eruditas y curiosas (1742–1760), are multi-volume collections of essays that cover a range of subjects, from natural history and the then known sciences, education, history, religion, literature, philology, philosophy and medicine, down to superstitions, wonders and salient points of contemporary journalistic interest.