Fides et Ratio
From Pope John Paul II's Encyclical Letter of the same name:
Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2).
INTRODUCTION
“KNOW YOURSELF”
1. In both East and West, we may trace a journey which has led humanity down the centuries to meet and engage truth more and more deeply. It is a journey which has unfolded—as it must—within the horizon of personal self-consciousness: the more human beings know reality and the world, the more they know themselves in their uniqueness, with the question of the meaning of things and of their very existence becoming ever more pressing. This is why all that is the object of our knowledge becomes a part of our life. The admonition Know yourself was carved on the temple portal at Delphi, as testimony to a basic truth to be adopted as a minimal norm by those who seek to set themselves apart from the rest of creation as “human beings”, that is as those who “know themselves”.
Moreover, a cursory glance at ancient history shows clearly how in different parts of the world, with their different cultures, there arise at the same time the fundamental questions which pervade human life: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life? These are the questions which we find in the sacred writings of Israel, as also in the Veda and the Avesta; we find them in the writings of Confucius and Lao-Tze, and in the preaching of Tirthankara and Buddha; they appear in the poetry of Homer and in the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles, as they do in the philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle. They are questions which have their common source in the quest for meaning which has always compelled the human heart. In fact, the answer given to these questions decides the direction which people seek to give to their lives.
2. The Church is no stranger to this journey of discovery, nor could she ever be. From the moment when, through the Paschal Mystery, she received the gift of the ultimate truth about human life, the Church has made her pilgrim way along the paths of the world to proclaim that Jesus Christ is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). It is her duty to serve humanity in different ways, but one way in particular imposes a responsibility of a quite special kind: the diakonia of the truth.(1) This mission on the one hand makes the believing community a partner in humanity's shared struggle to arrive at truth; (2) and on the other hand it obliges the believing community to proclaim the certitudes arrived at, albeit with a sense that every truth attained is but a step towards that fullness of truth which will appear with the final Revelation of God: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully” (1 Cor 13:12).
3. Men and women have at their disposal an array of resources for generating greater knowledge of truth so that their lives may be ever more human. Among these is philosophy, which is directly concerned with asking the question of life's meaning and sketching an answer to it. Philosophy emerges, then, as one of noblest of human tasks. According to its Greek etymology, the term philosophy means “love of wisdom”. Born and nurtured when the human being first asked questions about the reason for things and their purpose, philosophy shows in different modes and forms that the desire for truth is part of human nature itself. It is an innate property of human reason to ask why things are as they are, even though the answers which gradually emerge are set within a horizon which reveals how the different human cultures are complementary.
Philosophy's powerful influence on the formation and development of the cultures of the West should not obscure the influence it has also had upon the ways of understanding existence found in the East. Every people has its own native and seminal wisdom which, as a true cultural treasure, tends to find voice and develop in forms which are genuinely philosophical. One example of this is the basic form of philosophical knowledge which is evident to this day in the postulates which inspire national and international legal systems in regulating the life of society.
4. Nonetheless, it is true that a single term conceals a variety of meanings. Hence the need for a preliminary clarification. Driven by the desire to discover the ultimate truth of existence, human beings seek to acquire those universal elements of knowledge which enable them to understand themselves better and to advance in their own self-realization. These fundamental elements of knowledge spring from the wonder awakened in them by the contemplation of creation: human beings are astonished to discover themselves as part of the world, in a relationship with others like them, all sharing a common destiny. Here begins, then, the journey which will lead them to discover ever new frontiers of knowledge. Without wonder, men and women would lapse into deadening routine and little by little would become incapable of a life which is genuinely personal.
Through philosophy's work, the ability to speculate which is proper to the human intellect produces a rigorous mode of thought; and then in turn, through the logical coherence of the affirmations made and the organic unity of their content, it produces a systematic body of knowledge. In different cultural contexts and at different times, this process has yielded results which have produced genuine systems of thought. Yet often enough in history this has brought with it the temptation to identify one single stream with the whole of philosophy. In such cases, we are clearly dealing with a “philosophical pride” which seeks to present its own partial and imperfect view as the complete reading of all reality. In effect, every philosophical system, while it should always be respected in its wholeness, without any instrumentalization, must still recognize the primacy of philosophical enquiry, from which it stems and which it ought loyally to serve.
Although times change and knowledge increases, it is possible to discern a core of philosophical insight within the history of thought as a whole. Consider, for example, the principles of non-contradiction, finality and causality, as well as the concept of the person as a free and intelligent subject, with the capacity to know God, truth and goodness. Consider as well certain fundamental moral norms which are shared by all. These are among the indications that, beyond different schools of thought, there exists a body of knowledge which may be judged a kind of spiritual heritage of humanity. It is as if we had come upon an implicit philosophy, as a result of which all feel that they possess these principles, albeit in a general and unreflective way. Precisely because it is shared in some measure by all, this knowledge should serve as a kind of reference-point for the different philosophical schools. Once reason successfully intuits and formulates the first universal principles of being and correctly draws from them conclusions which are coherent both logically and ethically, then it may be called right reason or, as the ancients called it, orthós logos, recta ratio.
5. On her part, 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.
Worth: Thanks for articulating what I have always felt in the US - a total absence of any attention in the media to anything but one's immediate surroundings.
Now while your readers read that link, it would only be fair to balance it with these two:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6799386,00.html (Armed forces too stretched says MoD)
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007816964 (Record numbers quitting armed forces)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/86051.html (...and any number of headlines re our floods mentioning how armed forces are drafted in the biggest peace time rescue work in Britain in the havoc caused by floods).
Put all these together, and all of you in the US can rest easy that no matter what GB says we are not attacking anybody anytime soon.
Posted by: Shefaly | July 24, 2007 at 09:03 AM
And even for readers in America, is it not too tantalising to quote a paper called Jerusalem Post putting an interpretative spin on GB's words? Tsk, tsk...
Posted by: Shefaly | July 24, 2007 at 09:05 AM
I appreciate your perspective and have been somewhat keeping up with the unbelievable deluge over there. Regarding your shortage of manpower and over-extended status of the military, I'm not sure if there is a compulsory draft for military service in Britain or not (there's not in the U.S), but a co-worker of mine who volunteered for the Marine Corps. straight out of high school in order to pay for college, and then actually did go on to earn his university degree after his Marine duty in the Middle East during the first Gulf War, holds the opinion that the surest way to end our Iraq commitment is to re-institute the draft and not have college students be excluded - in short, have it like it was during WWII, where even the pro athletes and movie stars and sons of the rich and powerful had to serve. That way, it will be the sons and daughters of people who can actually influence Congressional representatives to withhold war funding and end it once and for all, rather than have our current situation of "of course I support the war - but you'd better not send my child over to fight it." Now I am not saying that would be a good thing or not, but it certainly would be the likely outcome of a new compulsory draft for everyone between the ages of, say, 18-40.
Posted by: worth | July 24, 2007 at 09:29 AM
There is no draft in the UK (there is in Switzerland). But nonetheless the thrust of my note was to say that we have no capacity to attack anyone. And if you recall, you will know we have the strongest anti-war sentiment of all the 'coalition' countries. So the suggestion of a draft will go down like a lead bucket!
Posted by: Shefaly | July 25, 2007 at 07:21 AM
There you go, proving my point exactly: the Swiss DO have a draft, and are engaged in exactly how many conflicts at present? Zero, perhaps? WHEN IT'S YOUR OWN CHILDREN IN THE MILITARY, YOU DON'T GO AROUND PICKING FIGHTS WITH YOUR MILITARY. Of course, when a fight is picked with you, you fight back, but that wasn't the case with Iraq. For the record, I don't see a draft in either of our country's futures; and related to that fact, as long as armies of nations don't include the sons and daughters of the rich and powerful citizens of those nations, all of the anti-war sentiment in the world won't keep governments with powerful armed forces from using them to secure the resources needed by their countries, regardless of where those resources reside. Does that make me un-American, or just someone who's so proud to BE an American with American ideals that I can't stand seeing our country (Republicans and Democrats alike) preach one thing while engaging in another?
Posted by: worth | July 25, 2007 at 11:12 AM
"..the Swiss DO have a draft, and are engaged in exactly how many conflicts at present? Zero, perhaps?"
Ah, but exactly how many firm moral stands DOES Switzerland take? Their welfare state thrives because in the WWII they did not hesitate to take in anyone who brought money. Non-alignment is not always a great strategy. But sometimes it is good to stand for something.
For sanitised living, it is a great country; but for much else, hmmm... I have lived there (Zurich) so I do not comment lightly.
All this reminds me of Gordon Sumner's lyrics:
Takes more than combat gear to make a man
Takes more than a licence for a gun
Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can
A Gentleman will walk, will never run..
Posted by: Shefaly | July 25, 2007 at 11:36 AM