Faith vs.

Reason: A Quick Glance at the Popes Latest Encyclical

Why did the pope write an encyclical on faith and reason? Is not faith and reason
opposed to each other? It is true that we live in an age of faithlessness, but why did he include reason? Are faith and reason related? Does faith need reason and vice versa? In an age of science and technology, is reason also in serious trouble? The pope addresses these questions and more in this Encyclical

At least for most !hristians, we have a common ground " the #ible

$es, there are problems of interpretation and canonicity, but still there is a strong commonality in the #ible The #ible can serve as a basis for intellectual dialog #ut with atheists and agnostics, the common ground becomes more nebulas %ince they deny the e&istence or importance of 'od, then (is Word is even less credible The only possible common ground is reason As %t )eter writes* +Always be ready to give an e&planation to anyone who as,s you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence + -. )eter /*.0".12 3nfortunately some atheist can be as unreasonable and dogmatic 4i e religious5 as some !hristians We must bear in mind as the Encyclical recogni6es, that* +If human beings with their intelligence fail to recogni6e 'od as !reator of all, it is not because they lac, the means to do so, but because their free will and their sinfulness place an impediment in the way + -7ides et ratio .82

9ow I am not a professional philosopher, so in one sense, I am technically incompetent

to give this tal, #ut in another sense, philosophy affects all of us, so we all need to be aware of its current trends )hilosophy is the foundation of political systems, e g :ar&ism We are all thin,ing beings who strive for ,nowledge 'ossip is perhaps one bad e&ample of this urge We all want to ,now the truth )eople may want to deceive others, but very few people want to be deceived This Encyclical addresses issues that affect all of us

(opefully some time in our life, we have wondered about our purpose in life

Are we merely a frea, cosmic accident that needs a purpose, or were we created for a purpose? This Encyclical begins with questions li,e* +Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life?+ -Ibid .2 The answers 4or lac, of response5 to these fundamental questions on the meaning of life +decides the direction which people see, to give to their lives + -Ibid 2

Even though we live in an age of science, we can still be quite unreasonable

We hear how our school systems are failing to teach the new generation Also T;, radio, newspapers and maga6ines proclaim to already have the answers, so we do not need to bother about thin,ing We merely accept the popular trends without questions In my

opinion, science and technology has made us into concrete thin,ers We are more and more concerned about the material world and our sense perceptions of it Ta& dollars and vaccines can solve social problems :any years ago while ta,ing a course in abstract algebra, I complained to the professor about being uncomfortable with the sub<ect matter I was doing well in the course, but I felt lost or, at least, thought that I was missing something important The professor=s response was* +Well, it=s abstract>+ At that point, I reali6ed that I was also a concrete thin,er

Even though we claim to live in an +age of reason+, there are serious problems with
modern reason The first problem that the pope addresses is called +%,epticism + Due to our concrete thin,ing, it is easy to ignore intangible ideas According to %,epticism, the only important ,nowledge is obtained from our observation of material things We can only ,now things through our five senses ?nowledge concerning abstract ideas, such as love, beauty and 'od, are either absurd or fantasy Also abstract concepts, li,e freedom and <ustice, are perverted or bound to concrete things %,epticism assumes that reason is limited to only sense perception Any idea beyond particular material ob<ects is not important

The second problem with modern reason is a false autonomy or independence

This false autonomy of reason is called +@ationalism + @ationalism assumes that human ,nowledge does not need faith All the ,nowledge, that we need, can be personally verified by our sense perception or personal e&perience We do not need to believe in anything, since we can prove it ourselves @eason replaces faith 3nfortunately this presumption is not totally honest Due to constraints in time and resources, even scientists must accept some ,nowledge on faith, even though it may not be a supernatural faith According to the Encyclical, +the human being " the one who see,s the truth " is also the one who lives by belief + -Ibid /.2

9ow for all humans, there are two ways of ,nowing* faith and reason

7aith is ,nowing through trust @eason is ,nowing through personal thin,ing, observation or e&perience We need both ways of ,nowing ?nowledge by reason alone would be quite limited #oth need to wor, together 7or e&ample, I have never been to )aris 4I almost went there, but my flight plans were rerouted 5 I have no direct personal e&perience of the city At this time in my life, I must simply believe that this city e&ists I must ta,e )aris by faithA however, this natural faith is not a +blind leap + I have good reasons to trust that )aris is a real city There is a convergence of evidence I heard friends, who claim to have been there, tal, about it I read many boo,s, reports and newspaper articles relating to )aris 9ow friends can lie, and the literature can be wrong #ut I still believe in )aris, because I have many independent sources to trust A few sources may be wrong, but it is still harder to accept that all of them are wrong

%cientists must also rely on natural faith

They must trust each other Each scientist does not have the time or resources to personally verify every e&periment or measurement They must trust the scientific literature 9ow faith is ,nowledge that fosters personal

relationship because there is a need for trust In science this faith fosters the +scientific community + #ut this faith is not a +blind leap+ but is bac,ed by reason The published scientific literature is carefully peer reviewed Also if a particular scientist is proven to be dishonest, the trust is bro,en, and his wor, is discredited (e needs to find a new profession

9ow faith can also motivate us to pursue reason

According to the Encyclical, +It is faith which stirs reason to move beyond all isolation and willingly to run ris,s so that it may attain whatever is beautiful, good and true 7aith thus becomes the convinced and convincing advocate of reason + -Ibid 012 All physical sciences assume that the physical universe is fundamentally ,nowable The universe is worth studying for its own sa,e and not simply for learning how to e&ploit it 4%tudying the universe, for its own sa,e, is science, while studying the universe, in order to master it, is engineering or technology 5 Without this fundamental, unproven belief, very few people would be interested in wasting their time in studying the universe and the fundamentals of matter Bet=s face it* accountants and nurses have more <ob security than scientists The Encyclical recogni6es that, +It is the one and the same 'od who establishes and guarantees the intelligibility and reasonableness of the natural order of things upon which scientists confidently depend, and who reveals himself as the 7ather of our Bord Cesus !hrist + -Ibid /D2 It is here that the pope quotes 'alileo in footnote EF8* +%acred %cripture and the natural world proceeding equally from the divine Word, the first as dictated by the (oly %pirit, the second as a very faithful e&ecutor of the commands of 'od +

During the final year of my )h D

program, my e&periments were still not giving satisfactory results These e&periments should have given good results, but something strange was happening I was frustrated and falling into despair I complained to my supervising professor (is response to me was* +$e of little faith>+ Even though I was pursuing a high"level degree in the physical sciences at a secular university, I still needed faith to motivate me through the hard times

As a result of supernatural faith in an intelligent !reator who wishes not to deceive,

modern science arose from medieval !hristianity The ancient !hinese and 'ree,s were very intelligent people The !hinese invented gunpowder, the first roc,et and the compass The 'ree,s invented the first steam engine and geometry #ut due to their pantheistic religions, they did not believe in the intelligibility of the universe The 'ree,s believed that nature was divine and thus not fundamentally ,nowable These people had the intelligence but not the inspiration to pursue science According to %tanley Ca,i, science in these cultures was +still born +

Ironically +Darwinism+, atheistic evolution, assumes that the universe is a frea, accident
If the universe is an accident, then is it really worth studying for its own sa,e? An accident has no purpose Also an accident usually implies chaos If the universe is fundamentally chaotic, then it may not be ,nowable This presumption of Darwinism can

raise doubts in the minds of those attempting to study science Darwinism not only attac,s !hristianity but also the fundamental inspiration underlying the pursuit of science

#ut what about supernatural faith? %upernatural faith is the basis of !hristianity

(ow can this be related to natural reason? According to the Encyclical, +Although faith, a gift of 'od, is not based on reason, it can certainly not dispense with it At the same time, it becomes apparent that reason needs to be reinforced by faith, in order to discover hori6ons it cannot reach on its own + -Ibid 1G2 @eason can open our concrete minds, so our will may be more receptive to the grace of supernatural faith 7or e&ample the radical question, +Why is there something rather than nothing?+ -Ibid G12, can ma,e us reali6e that there is something missing from mere sense e&perience Also reason can help faith from falling into superstition @eason can critique our beliefs The Encyclical states that* +It is an illusion to thin, that faith, tied to wea, reasoning, might be more penetratingA on the contrary, faith then runs the grave ris, of withering into myth or superstition + -Ibid DH2 Ine heresy concerning faith, +7ideism+, claims that supernatural faith is so superior to natural reason that faith cannot benefit from reason 3nfortunately 7ideism reduces faith to simply a personal conviction or a +blind leap + As %t )eter encouraged, reason can help us better e&plain our faith to other people who do not share our personal convictions In the other side, a supernatural faith can give reason a vitality and newness Ince again according to the Encyclical* +#y the same to,en, reason which is unrelated to an adult faith is not prompted to turn its ga6e to the newness and radicality of being + -Ibid DH2 7aith can free reason from the bondage of mere sense perception As in science, faith can motivate us to pursue reason further to acquire more ,nowledge According to the conclusion of the Encyclical* +The !hurch remains profoundly convinced that faith and reason Jmutually support each other=A each influences the other as they offer to each other a purifying critique and a stimulus to pursue the search for deeper understanding + -Ibid .KK2

Even though I have spo,en mainly about faith and reason, since the title of the
Encyclical is +7aith and reason+, the Encyclical is really concerned about the relationship between philosophy and theology #oth need their rightful autonomy, but they are more fruitful if they interact with each other )hilosophy is an orderly body of ,nowledge that aims at e&plaining something Bi,e reason, its starting point is sense e&perience Theology, on the other hand, is also an orderly body of ,nowledge that aims at e&plaining something, but its starting point is the revealed Word of 'od It is related to faith but also reason %ince the two disciplines have different starting points, they are distinct #ut both can be used to better our understanding of 'od #ased on the naturally ,nowable world, philosophy can argue for the e&istence of 'od as the ultimate subsistent #eing #ut philosophy is without a clue concerning the Trinity Inly through revelation and theology, we can better understand 'od as Trinity

#efore concluding, the pope points out several modern currents of philosophical thought
which are fundamentally flawed 7irstly, +Eclecticism+, as its name implies, is an approach that borrows particular ideas from different philosophies without any concern for their appropriateness or internal coherence Its a +hodgepodge+ of thoughts %econdly,

+(istoricism+ assumes that there are no time enduring truths What was true in one historical period may not be true in another It is closely related to :odernism 9e&t +%cientism+, which is similar to @ationalism and )ositivism, claims that the only reliable ,nowledge is obtained through the scientific method It gives the impression that if something is technically possible then it must be morally admissible +)ragmatism+, which is quite popular in #ritain and the 3 % A , is an attitude of thought which bases all decisions on results and utility Any theoretical considerations are ignored If a given action produces the desired results, then it is good 7inally all of these philosophies eventually lead to +9ihilism+ It is the final denial of the dignity of man and man=s eternal destiny 9ihilism is the final, honest logical conclusion that without 'od, we are nothing It is the despair of atheism These philosophies tend to re<ect the need for 'od and profess a false autonomy As the Encyclical notes* +%ince the created world is not self"sufficient, every illusion of autonomy which would deny the essential dependence on 'od of every creature " the human being included " leads to dramatic situations which subvert the rational search for the harmony and meaning of human life + -Ibid HK2

In summary, due to our human conditions, we need both faith and reason in order to
properly advance in ,nowledge #oth go hand"in"hand %ince I am neither a philosopher or a theologian, I will end here )lease read this Encyclical Than, you for your time and patience References: . F / D 0 1 G H 8 'od, The #ible )ope Cohn )aul II, 7ides et ratio Dr Douglas 7lippen, 7aith and @eason 7r :aurice 'ilbert, Israel=s Wisdom #ishop Andre":utien Beonard, @ational Custification of the Act of 7aith #ishop )eter (enrici, 7rom :any (uman Truths to the Ine Divine Truth 7r Enrico dal !ovolo, The Encounter of 7aith and @eason in the 7athers of the !hurch 7r 'iovanni # %ala, The Drama of the %eparation of 7aith and @eason :ost of these articles can be found on Peter's Net )lease clic, here for lin,s

)hillip # Biesches,i .D :ay .888