1.

0 INTRODUCTION

The basic theme of the encyclical Fides et Ratio is beautifully expressed in its opening
lines with a metaphor depicting faith and reason as “two wings on which the human spirit
rises to the contemplation of truth”1. By this, says John Paul II, the human heart fulfills its
God-given nature that is “desire to know the truth” 2. The encyclical letter adopts the basic
issues about faith and reason, philosophy and theology, science and religion, self-
knowledge and world knowledge and other important matters that relate to man’s
ultimate search for truth.

2.0 AN OVERVIEW OF THE ENCYCLICAL (FIDES ET RATIO)

The encyclical begins with an introduction, entitled the Socratic injunction, “know
yourself”, on the role of philosophy in asking and answering questions concerning the
meaning of human life. It states that the church regards philosophy as “the way to come
to know fundamental truths about human life”3 and at the same time as “an indispensable
help for a deep understanding of faith and for communicating the truth of the Gospel to
those who do not yet know it”4. Unfortunately, contemporary philosophy “has lost the
capacity to lift its gaze to the heights, not daring to rise to the truth of being,” 5 and as a
result, is wallowing in agnosticism and relativism.

This lamentable situation prompted the Pope to write his encyclical with a twofold
purpose: firstly, to “restore to our contemporaries a genuine trust in their capacity to
know and challenge philosophy to recover and develop its own full dignity” 6 and,
secondly, to concentrate “on the theme of truth itself and on its foundation in relation to
faith”7 to enable man know or pursue the universal truth and meaning of life so that at last
“humanity may come to a clearer sense of the great resources which it has been
endowed”8.

The body of Fides et Ratio is composed of seven chapters, entitled successively as “the
Revelation of God’s Wisdom”, “Credo ut intellegam”, “Intellego ut credam”,
“Relationship between Faith and Reason”, “Magisterium’s Interventions in
Philosophical Matters”, “Interaction between Philosophy and Theology”, and “Current
Requirements and Tasks”. It then concludes with appeals to philosophers, theologians,
professors, and scientists to “look more deeply at man, whom Christ has saved in the
mystery of his love, and at the human being’s unceasing search for truth and meaning” 9.
Just from the titles of the chapters, especially chapters 2, 3, 4, and 6, it is obvious that the
central theme of the encyclical is the relationship between reason and faith, philosophy
and theology, science and religion, self-knowledge and world knowledge etc. Let us
quickly look into science and religion and whether there exists any atom of relationship
between them.

3.0 SCIENCE AND RELIGION, ANY RELATIONSHIP?

On the issues of science and religion, the pope stressed that the relationship existing
between science and religion can be recognized in the sapiential dimension of science
and of course in a positive way. The extolment of sciences deal only with experiential
discoveries, contingent, fragmentary and weak knowledge. Also it involves the utilitarian
goal or subjective certainty which at times impoverish the metaphysical, religious,
theological, ethical knowledge and can also militate man’s ultimate search of reality.
Such learning is problematic to Human reason. There comes for everyone the moment
when personal existence must be anchored to a truth recognized as final, a truth which
confers a certitude no longer open to doubt. In relating science and religion proper, the
pope believes that the truth revealed in Jesus Christ, (Theology) is not in conflict to the
truth which science searches. It is the one and the same God who establishes and
guarantees the intelligibility and reasonableness of the natural order of things upon which
scientists confidently depend.10 Therefore science and religion cannot contradict each
other because their positive relationship exist in the sapiential dimension which sharpens
man’s ultimate values, as such leads him to the truth.

4.0 SELF KNOWLEDGE AND WORLD KNOWLEDGE. ANY RELATIONSHIP?

In the ultimate search for truth, man searches to find the ultimate truth about himself, his
world and the ultimate meaning of this existence. He tries to establish the ground for his
existence and the meaning of the universe he finds himself. This is made evident in the
ancient history and in the temple of Delphi where the inscription of ‘man knows thyself’
is made as an admonition to those who wish to realize the truth within the horizon of
personal self consciousness as their pursuit to be human beings. The Holy Father then
stressed that “the more human beings know reality and the world, the more they know
themselves in their uniqueness”.11 That is to say that “the object of our knowledge
becomes part of our life”12. This defines man as a being with or relation with himself, his
world, people and most importantly with God who is the ultimate truth and giver of life
and existence. It can be said that their relationship lies in the fact that they complement
each other and foster the knowledge of each other. (Self knowledge and World
knowledge).

5.0 ACCEPTING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN FAITH AND REASON

Primarily, the desire and object of reason is to seek the ultimate truth and meaning of life.
However, Truth is known through the combination of faith and reason. The absence of
either one will diminish man’s ability to know himself, the world and God. Human
reason seeks the truth, but the ultimate truth about the meaning of life cannot be found by
reason alone. The Holy Father consider the relationship between faith and reason by
establishing the stand of the first Vatican council that the truth obtained by the
philosophy and the truth attained by revelation can neither be mutually indenture nor
identical. In his attempt to know the relationship between faith and reason in pursuit of
truth, the polish philosopher made it evident in three chapters – the first is “Credo ut
intellegam” ( I believe before understanding) the second “intellego ut credam” (I
understand before believing) and “relationship between faith and reason”.

In the chapter titled credo ut intelligam, he emphasized how faith inviting reason leads to
truth. Simply put, that reason sees the light but faith guides the way. He used the many
biblical injunctions to substantiate his stand here (Prov. 16:9, 20:5). Also, he summarized
his point that there is no need for competition between faith and reason by interpreting
this biblical passage, “from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a
corresponding perception of their creator.” (Wis. 13:5) to mean the “book of nature”
when read properly with the tool of reason can lead to knowledge of the creator. He also
states “the result of reasoning may in fact be true, but these results acquire their true
meaning only if they are set within the larger horizon of faith”13

On the other hand, in the chapter “intellego ut credam” (I understand before believing),
Pope John Paul II tries to show that most of our knowledge is truth we accept by belief.
According to him, “the knowledge acquired through belief, grounded as it is on trusts
between persons, is linked to truth.”14 That is to say, belief involves our capacity for
interpersonal relationship and trust of others. This belief is made evident in the witnesses
of martyrs who encountered Jesus Christ. In the next chapter is where the interaction
between faith and reason lies. For him, reason supports faith and vice versa in this
following ways (a) Reason prepares the way to faith. St. Justin and the apologists used
philosophy as a “preamble” to faith. Philosophical logic shows how the Catholic faith is
not contrary to reason, and it can demonstrate the errors of arguments against the faith.
Thus, St. Clement of Alexandria called philosophy a stepping stone to the faith. (b)
Reason can show that that there is a God and can demonstrate his primary attributes such
as his power and divinity. Reason lays the foundation for faith and makes revelation
credible. Reason is thus the common ground between believers and unbelievers. (c) Faith
without reason withers into myth or superstition. Deprived of reason, faith is left with
only feelings and experience. It loses its universality.

On the other hand, faith supports reason in the following: (a) Human reason is inherently
weak and inclined to error. Deprived of revelation, reason can go off track and miss its
destination. (b) Faith proposes truths that might never have been discovered by unaided
reason. For example, the notions of free will and a personal God who is the Creator of the
world have been crucial for the development of a philosophy of being. (c) Faith gives the
philosopher the courage to tackle difficult questions such as the ultimate answers to man's
questions about pain, suffering of the innocent, and death are found in Christ's Passion,
Death and Resurrection. (d) Faith and spiritual life protect the philosopher from
intellectual pride that would impede his ability to search for the truth. Faith, strengthened
by love, facilitates the intellectual grasp of the truth about man and his real needs.

The Holy Father thus, confirms the harmony between the knowledge of faith and the
knowledge of reason. “Faith asks that its object be understood with the help of reason;
and at the summit of its searching, reason acknowledges that it cannot do without what
faith presents”15 because as St. Thomas Aquinas argued it that the light of reason and the
light of faith both come from God, there can be no contradiction between them16.

6.0 PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY

There are many ways in which philosophy and theology interact and complement each
other. In trying to view this, the polish philosopher brings to light that philosophy has to
do with the study of ultimate truth, critical enquiry, logical analysis, intelligent
questioning, and interpretation of facts under the natural light of reason. It is autonomous
in principle and method of its own. On the other hand, theology is the study of the
Catholic faith with revelation as its first principles. That is to say, “theology’s source and
starting-point must always be the word of God revealed in history, while its final goal
will be an understanding of that word which increases with each passing generation of
that word which increases with each passing generation.” 17 This is where their
relationship is evident. Philosophy devises two distinct approaches to theology as an
understanding of faith namely the auditus Fidei and the Intellectus fidei. Theology as
the intellectus fidei seeks to respond through speculative inquiry “to the specific demands
of disciplined thought”18. This means that theology, beginning with the auditus fidei,
must by its nature seek the sort of completeness and systematicity that any philosophical
system demands. In other words, the formal properties of wisdom as delineated by
classical philosophy are requirements for complete understanding which serve as ideals
for theology as well.

Philosophy aids both the auditus fidei and the intellectus fidei. The Holy Father here goes
through the main branches of theology and shows the role of philosophy in
each. Dogmatic (systematic) theology, he says, would be impossible without philosophy,
since it must articulate the faith “through concepts formulated in a critical and universally
communicable way”19. The same holds for moral theology, which needs philosophical
concepts such as law, conscience, freedom, etc., “which are in part defined by
philosophical ethics”20. This is even more obvious with respect to fundamental theology,
which aims to “expound the relationship between faith and philosophical thought” 21. It
must, for instance, delineate the range of the natural knowledge of God; articulate the
distinction between divine revelation and other forms of human cognition, the nature of
faith, the status of language about God, etc. The Holy Father counters the objection that
nowadays the social sciences are more important aids to theology than are the
philosophical disciplines. He emphasizes the duty of theology “to go beyond the
particular and concrete, lest the prime task of demonstrating the universality of faith’s
content be abandoned”21. It is precisely philosophical inquiry which can discern objective
truth in different world-views and cultures.

7.0 CONCLUSION

The Fides et Ratio of Pope John Paul II is really an edifying masterpiece which tried all
its possible best to stand that relationship between all the issues discussed in it is more
beneficiary and supportive. The Holy Father, in the conclusion of his encyclical, agreed
with Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical “Aeterni Patris,” that the church is and will remain
deeply convinced that faith and reason mutually support each other; each influences and
complement the other, as they offer each other a purifying critique and a stimulus to
pursue the search for deeper understanding. He equally urged theologians to pay attention
to the philosophical implications of God’s words.
Endnotes

1. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical letter: Faith and Reason-Fides et Ratio (Kenya: Pauline
Publications Africa., 1998), p. 5
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., No. 5
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid., No. 6
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid. No 107
10.Ibid., No. 34
11.Ibid., No. 1
12.Ibid.
13.Ibid., No. 20
14.Ibid., No. 32
15.Ibid., No. 45
16.Ibid.
17.Ibid., No. 73
18.Ibid., No. 65
19.Ibid., No. 66
20.Ibid.
21.Ibid., No. 67
22.Ibid., No. 69