Among all of the guiding voices in my life in my late teens and early twenties, there was one voice which, in God’s Providence, helped me the most to orient my life towards noble goals. That voice was that of Pope St. John Paul II. I remember when I was given a small piece of paper by a youth leader with a quote from one of his speeches. It read, “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness. He is waiting for you when nothing else satisfies.” Those words gave me the courage at a young age to choose Christ and live out my Catholic faith sincerely. When he died, I traveled to Rome to attend his funeral and pay my respects to the gift that he had given me in life. I was grateful because he was right, no one else really satisfies the heart as Christ does. His life was a testament to that truth.
It would take many years of study (still ongoing) to become familiar with all that he wrote and taught. Having a public school education and becoming interested in theology and other more important studies as a young adult, I realized how much was lacking in my Catholic formation. While I gratefully received the gift of faith, there was so much in the Catholic faith which was difficult to understand. In hindsight, against the backdrop of modern thought, the faith seemed believable, but in certain sense unintelligible.
John Paul II was certainly trying to remedy the missing foundation of Catholic education in his encyclical Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason). In this essay, I wish to show that what is needed in Catholic education is not more Science, but rather Philosophy, not least because of the many reasons offered by John Paul II.
Modes of Truth
Occasionally one might hear educators speak about the relationship between faith and reason by explaining that Modern Science and the Catholic faith should not be at odds with each other. They argue that in our endeavor to educate we must emphasize that there is nothing incompatible between the truths of science and the truths of faith, because, as they quote from this encyclical, there is “unity of truth”.1 The same God who provides us with the content of Divine Revelation also created the physical world which the sciences study. Therefore, whatever is discovered as true in science should be compatible with whatever has been divinely revealed. As there appears to be two modes of truth, that of science and that of faith, we must agree that since both have their origin in God, they will not be in contradiction. This is more or less the message (it is indeed more nuanced, yet I hope you can forgive me the generalization for the sake of time).
If this is the Catholic message on the topic of faith and reason, I would certainly think that this same message would be found in the encyclical of the same name. But this is not what the encyclical is teaching.
Rather than admitting only two modes of truth, John Paul II speaks of three. The first mode is indeed scientific truths, which “depend upon immediate evidence or are confirmed by experimentation” and are “proper to… scientific research.”2 The second mode of truth is philosophical truth which is “attained by means of the speculative powers of the human intellect.”3 Lastly, there are religious truths, which are sometimes common to all religions, but are more specifically those truths which are revealed by God and which we could not know without his revelation.
Now, if there are three modes of truth, scientific, philosophic, and religious, is it accurate to speak about “faith and reason” as being a conversation between religion and science, as it often is? What is missing from this reduction from three modes of truth to only two? And is Fides et Ratio a discourse about the nature of the relationship between the truths of science and the truths of the Catholic faith? Is John Paul II simply attempting to show that modern science and the Catholic faith are compatible? The opening line of his encyclical (the most quoted line, perhaps the only one read by most Catholics) is “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”4 Is this to mean that we need both religion and Modern Science in order to know the truth? Is that what the encyclical Faith and Reason was all about?
I think the answer is “No”.
An Intense Interest in Philosophy
The purpose and main subject of the encyclical is that other mode which is always left out of our educational conversations about truth. Indeed it is the very thing that has been left out of Catholic education for several generations. The subject of the encyclical might be summed up by his own words as follows: “For the reasons suggested here, it has seemed to me urgent to re-emphasize with this Encyclical Letter the Church’s intense interest in philosophy – indeed the intimate bond which ties theological work to the philosophical search for truth.”5 (emphasis mine)
The “ratio” in Fides et Ratio is Reason, which is cultivated by philosophy. The two wings which lead us to contemplate the truth are not faith and science, but faith and reason. A correct philosophy directed by the principles of reasoning leads to truth. But one which is faulty or done by one who has not made his own the principles of reasoning would lead to error. Inasmuch as Modern Science is born of a false philosophy, which he argues it often is, then the conclusions of Modern Science and the truths of Divine Revelation could be in contradiction. On the other hand, science guided by right reasoning and a sound philosophy might be harmless.
The Weight of Too Much Knowledge
Our educational system, including Catholic education, has long been without the aid of philosophical reasoning since it has been replaced with Modern Math and Science curricula. Therefore, when we hear the Church speaking about the necessity of faith and reason, we, having no proper definition of what is meant by reason, are too quick to translate reason as science. After all, religion is for the theologians who pray and talk about ideas, morals, and the like, while reason is for the scientists, who are concerned with facts and the real physical world. But this is ignorance. The encyclical Fides et Ratio seeks to rectify this problem of ignorance about reason and philosophy and clarify the relationship between the two.
Pope John Paul II laments the fact that Modern Science’s relentless pursuit of knowledge apart from reason has created a serious problem for humanity. He says: “It has happened therefore that reason…has wilted under the weight of so much knowledge and little by little has lost the capacity to lift its gaze to the heights.”6 The empty culture which is formed by this abundance of knowledge from disconnected fields “…is why many people stumble through life to the very edge of the abyss without knowing where they are going.”7 It encourages men to abandon “the toil of patient enquiry into what makes life worth living.”8 The solution to this dark culture is not more of the cause, that is, more scientific inquiry without sound philosophy! The solution is not “Faith and Science”. The solution is “Faith and Reason”.
Philosophy Opens the Path to Happiness
It is philosophy that must be restored if true human culture and learning is to begin anew. Since philosophy has been set aside for the aspirations of Modern Science, we must “strive resolutely to recover [philosophy’s] original vocation”9 to bring about the happiness and culture which is proper to human souls. We need only to look at the actual fruit everywhere to be observed, that despite the advances and progress of the positive sciences, the human soul, even when filled with so much knowledge, is besought with confusion, misery, aimlessness, enmity. Modern souls are living in or near the abyss. Is more science and more scientific theories really the solution to the unhappiness of modern souls? John Paul II suggests the opposite as he quotes from Sacred Scripture: “Happy the man who meditates on wisdom and reasons intelligently.”10
He explains that philosophy helps us to attain knowledge by the reasoning which is already present in our creation as human beings. This kind of reasoning exists from the very beginning of man, as he, contrary to the animals, has the capacity to wonder and meditate about the world around him. He has the capacity to ask questions about meaning, why things exist, what existence really is, what are the causes of things and what are the ends or purposes of things. These metaphysical questions guide man towards truths which can be known for certain, following only the rules proper to philosophy and not yet informed by faith.11 This light of the soul, reason, can even provide us with certain knowledge of the existence of God, even if this knowledge is limited.
The Union of Philosophy and Divine Revelation
God generously adds to our philosophic knowledge of the truth by the great gift of divine revelation, which fully reveals for us our true nature and vocation in Christ, without the admixture of error or the darkness caused by sin. John Paul II teaches: “This truth, which God reveals to us in Jesus Christ, is not opposed to the truths which philosophy perceives. On the contrary, the two modes of knowledge lead to truth in all its fullness. The unity of truth is a fundamental premise of human reasoning, as the principle of non-contradiction makes clear.”12 Here he speaks only of two modes of truth which cooperate together to attain truth in all its fullness. He leaves out in this place the first mode of truth, which is simply scientific knowledge of observable things. It is in this context – in the contemplation of higher truth through philosophy and revelation – that he speaks of the “unity of truth” and the principle of non-contradiction.
The “unity of truth” is often posited by modern educators to mean that the truths of science must be compatible with the truths of faith. Yet this is not how it is used in this context. The principle of non-contradiction is a principle of reasoning which is a classical liberal art. It is not a principle by which we are able to say with certainty that the conclusions of Modern Science and the tenets of faith can not ever contradict each other. It seems to me, they sometimes do. For, if the pursuit of simple scientific truth is done unreasonably, that is, without a proper philosophical foundation and absent clear answers to the important metaphysical questions, what is speculated by Modern Science to be “true” may in fact only be apparent truth. In this sense we might say that certain sciences today are premised by poor philosophical principles and misguided or erroneous reasoning. This will most certainly lead to contradictions with Divine Revelation.
Science or Scientism?
John Paul II in fact, includes a list of some modern “philosophies” which might undergird modern sciences, such as eclecticism, historicism, modernism, pragmatism, nihilism, and of course, scientism. This last one denies that any valid knowledge can be attained by philosophy or revelation. Such knowledge only comes through Modern Science. It is not hard to see that the conclusions of scientific inquiry which hold to scientism will inevitably be in contradiction with traditional philosophy and Divine Revelation. What is unfortunate is that in my estimation, most of what is taught as science in modern education, including Catholic education, is lacking this proper philosophical foundation and therefore easily drifts into scientism. It is no wonder that Catholic students grow confused and skeptical of Catholicism. John Paul II makes it plain: “Philosophy contributes specifically to theology in preparing for a correct auditus fidei…”13 For theology to be effective, it must have a proper understanding of the philosophical context in which the Catholic faith has been taught.
Philosophy Contributes To the Church’s Mission
The bulk of his encyclical reviews the historical development of philosophy and its relationship with the truths of the Catholic faith as found in Scripture and Divine Revelation. Admittedly, there is a certain sense, he explains, in which Catholicism does not need philosophy. He quotes St. Clement who liked to explain it thus: “The teaching of the Saviour is perfect in itself and has no need of support, because it is the strength and the wisdom of God. Greek philosophy, with its contribution, does not strengthen truth; but, in rendering the attack of sophistry impotent and in disarming those who betray truth and wage war upon it, Greek philosophy is rightly called the hedge and the protective wall around the vineyard.”14
Further, the Church has recognized over the centuries what proper philosophy can contribute to its own mission of salvation. The Pope explains this: “…the Church cannot but set great value upon reason’s drive to attain goals which render people’s lives ever more worthy. She sees in philosophy the way to come to know fundamental truths about human life. At the same time, the Church considers philosophy an indispensable help for a deeper understanding of faith and for communicating the truth of the Gospel to those who do not yet know it.”15 Generally speaking, modern students will not be prepared to hear the Gospel without right reason or sound philosophy. There may be individual successes here and there – I could count myself as one of them. Yet, the broad efforts of Catholic education and evangelization will fail. That is just what we see.
John Paul admits with “displeasure” that “in the years after the Second Vatican Council, many Catholic faculties were in some ways impoverished by a diminished sense of the importance of the study not just of Scholastic philosophy but more generally of the study of philosophy itself.”16 Unfortunately, I sense that the saintly Pope in heaven has not ceased in his displeasure of our current state of education. For, in the years since his encyclical, the situation has not gotten any better.
Is Anyone Heeding the Call?
But there is hope. The Classical Liberal Arts Academy sets philosophy and the study of reasoning back in their proper place in the Catholic educational curriculum. There is no skipping philosophy for Catholic students and we must be bold here. We must scale back the amount of educational energy spent on Modern Math and Science, and in its place study reasoning and philosophy. We must once again pursue the contemplation of the fullness of truth on the wings of faith and reason.
- John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, paragraphs 34, 51, and 53 ↩︎
- Ibid. 30 ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. Introductory paragraph. ↩︎
- Ibid. 63 ↩︎
- Ibid. 5 ↩︎
- Ibid. 6 ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. 16. See Sirach 14:20 ↩︎
- Ibid. 75. “We see here philosophy’s valid aspiration to be an autonomous enterprise, obeying its own rules and employing the powers of reason alone.” ↩︎
- Ibid. 34 ↩︎
- Ibid. 65 ↩︎
- Ibid. 38. See Clement, Stromata I, 20 ↩︎
- Ibid. 5 ↩︎
- Ibid. 61 ↩︎
