Reason and Faith: A Philosophical Examination
The Dominant Problem: Reason and Faith
The central theme revolves around the relationship between reason (philosophy) and faith (religion), encompassing:
- Relationship between spiritual and temporal power
- The subject of “double truth” or Averroism
Averroism and the Theory of Double Truth
Averroism addresses the conflict when reason and faith provide different answers to the same question. Averroes defined this as the theory of double truth. This theory was embraced by some intellectuals and strongly opposed by others.
Averroes argued for two levels of wisdom: one religious, the other scientific-philosophical. God is unique, universal, and eternal, the first cause and natural law governing the cosmos. While this may seem to contradict religious teachings, it leads us to distinguish two levels of knowledge: teleological and scientific-philosophical. These should be conceived as different only at the formal level, depending on their intention or mode of approach to truth.
Ultimately, there is only one truth. The philosopher seeks it through necessary demonstration, while the believer receives it through tradition. “Divine revelation” has two parts: one clear and another needing interpretation. The first requires universal acceptance, while the second requires only defense by the wise. Averroes believed there was no danger as long as one had appropriate training and knew how to use reason correctly.
Rational Demonstration for the Existence of God
St. Anselm’s Ontological Argument
The problem of universals was not the only question of interest to scholastic thinkers. They also strove to discern if it was possible to demonstrate the existence of God. St. Anselm was among the first to feel the need for such a demonstration.
Anselm sought an intermediate position, starting from faith but seeking understanding, not blind faith. He is known for his famous and controversial argument about the existence of God, considering the reality of God inherent in the very idea of God. His argument aligns with the realist position on universals.
Anselm aimed to show the unbeliever (who says God is the greatest conceivable being but denies God’s existence) that they are contradicting themselves, as the greatest conceivable being must actually exist. With this argument, Anselm sought to demonstrate that one without faith is a fool.
Thomas Aquinas’s Five Ways
Aquinas presented five arguments, derived from empirical observations. Each argument follows a similar structure:
- Starts with a data point from the empirical world.
- Applies the principle of causality.
- Rejects the possibility of an infinite regress.
1st Way: Argument from the Unmoved Mover
In the created world, motion exists. Everything that is moved is moved by something else. An endless succession of movers is impossible, leading to something that moves others without being moved: God as the Prime Mover.
2nd Way: Argument from First Cause
All beings are the effect of a cause. Nothing can be its own cause. An infinite succession of causes is impossible, leading to an initial cause: God.
3rd Way: Argument from Necessity
All things and events in the world are contingent and possible, capable of both being and not being, and are perishable. Therefore, their existence depends on another being. There must be a reality that is the reason for its own existence: God.
4th Way: Argument from Degree
In the world, there are more or less perfect beings, with varying degrees of perfection. There must be a perfect benchmark to compare us to: God.
5th Way: Argument from Design
All beings devoid of reason in the world act to pursue a certain purpose, indicating teleology or purpose in nature. These tendencies toward certain purposes reveal that they have been ordered by an intelligent being: God.
The Heavenly and Earthly Worlds
The Question of Universals
The question of universals was a central theme, stemming from Plato and Aristotle’s inquiry into the nature of reality that ideas possess.
- Plato gave them an existence independent of things, of which they were the cause.
- Aristotle claimed that ideas existed within the things themselves, as their form.
Thus, the question of universals concerns the kind of reality that exists behind a universal expression.