Faith and rationality: Difference between revisions

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Faith and rationality exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility. Rationality is based on reason or facts. Faith is belief in inspiration, revelation, or authority. The word faith sometimes refers to a belief that is held in spite of or against reason or empirical evidence, or it can refer to belief based upon a degree of evidential warrant.^[1]

Relationship between faith and reason

Rationalists point out that many people hold irrational beliefs, for many reasons. There may be evolutionary causes for irrational beliefs—irrational beliefs may increase our ability to survive and reproduce.

One more reason for irrational beliefs can perhaps be explained by operant conditioning. For example, in one study by B. F. Skinner in 1948, pigeons were awarded grain at regular time intervals regardless of their behaviour. The result was that each of the pigeons developed their own idiosyncratic response which had become associated with the consequence of receiving grain.^[2]

Believers in the value of faith—for example those who believe salvation is possible through faith alone—frequently suggest that everyone holds beliefs arrived at by faith, not reason.^[3]

One form of belief held "by faith" may be seen existing in a faith as based on warrant. In this view some degree of evidence provides warrant for faith; it consists in other words in "explain[ing] great things by small."^[4]

Christianity

Catholic views

Thomas Aquinas was the first to write a full treatment of the relationship, differences, and similarities between faith, which he calls "an intellectual assent",^[5] and reason.^[6]

Dei Filius was a dogmatic constitution of the First Vatican Council on the Roman Catholic faith. It was adopted unanimously on 24 April 1870. It states that "not only can faith and reason never be opposed to one another, but they are of mutual aid one to the other".^[7]

Recent popes have spoken about faith and rationality: Fides et ratio, an encyclical letter promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 14 September 1998, deals with the relationship between faith and reason. Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg lecture, delivered on 12 September 2006, was on the subject of "faith, reason and the university".^[8]

Lutheran views

Reformed views

Alvin Plantinga upholds that faith may be the result of evidence testifying to the reliability of the source of truth claims, but although it may involve this, he sees faith as being the result of hearing the truth of the gospel with the internal persuasion by the Holy Spirit moving and enabling him to believe. "Christian belief is produced in the believer by the internal instigation of the Holy Spirit, endorsing the teachings of Scripture, which is itself divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. The result of the work of the Holy Spirit is faith."^[9]

Evangelical views

American biblical scholar Archibald Thomas Robertson stated that the Greek word pistis used for faith in the New Testament (over two hundred forty times), and rendered "assurance" in Acts 17:31 (KJV), is "an old verb to furnish, used regularly by Demosthenes for bringing forward evidence."^[10] Likewise Tom Price (Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) affirms that when the New Testament talks about faith positively it only uses words derived from the Greek root [pistis] which means "to be persuaded."^[11]

In contrast to faith meaning blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence, Alister McGrath quotes Oxford Anglican theologian W. H. Griffith-Thomas (1861–1924), who states faith is "not blind, but intelligent" and "commences with the conviction of the mind based on adequate evidence", which McGrath sees as "a good and reliable definition, synthesizing the core elements of the characteristic Christian understanding of faith."^[12]

Jewish views

The 14th-century Jewish philosopher Levi ben Gerson tried to reconcile faith and reason. He wrote: "the Law cannot prevent us from considering to be true that which our reason urges us to believe."^[13]

Islamic view

References

^ "Faith and Reason | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy". Retrieved 2023-02-21.
^ Skinner, B. F. (1 January 1948). "'Superstition' in the pigeon". Journal of Experimental Psychology. 38 (2): 168–172. doi:10.1037/h0055873. PMID 18913665. S2CID 22577459.
^ Rosental, Creighton J (2004-01-01). "The reconciliation of faith and reason in Thomas Aquinas". Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest: 1–243.
^ "Hebrews 11 - Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Bible Commentaries". StudyLight.org. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
^ "Faith" from the Catholic Encyclopedia
^ "Reason" from the Catholic Encyclopedia
^ "Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical notes. Volume II. The History of Creeds". ccel.org.
^ Benedict XVI, Faith, Reason and the University: Memories and Reflections, Holy See website, accessed 31 January 2024
^ Plantinga, Alvin (2000). Warranted Christian Belief. USA: Oxford University Press. pp. 250, 291. ISBN 0195131924.
^ Robertson, Archibald Thomas. WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. pp. Chapter 17.
^ Price, Thomas (9 November 2007). "Faith is about 'just trusting' God isn't It?". Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^ McGrath, Alister E. (2008). The Order of Things: Explorations in Scientific Theology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 33. ISBN 978-1405125567.
^ Rudavsky, Tamar (2020), "Gersonides", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2022-11-18

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+{{Short description|Two approaches that exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility}}
-'''Faith and rationality''' are two modes of belief which are seen to exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility.  [[Faith]] is generally defined as belief not grounded in evidence and reason, while [[rationality]] is belief based on [[logic]] and/or material evidence.
+{{related|[[Rational fideism]]}}
+'''Faith and rationality''' exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility. [[Rationality]] is based on [[reason]] or [[facts]]. [[Faith]] is belief in [[Divine inspiration|inspiration]], [[revelation]], or [[authority]]. The word ''faith'' sometimes refers to a belief that is held in spite of or against [[reason]] or [[empirical evidence]], or it can refer to belief based upon a degree of [[evidential]] [[warrant (philosophy)|warrant]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faith and Reason {{!}} Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/faith-re/ |access-date=2023-02-21 |language=en-US}}</ref>
+==Relationship between faith and reason==
-Broadly speaking, there are three categories of views regarding the relationship between faith and rationality.  [[Rationalism]] holds that [[truth]] should be determined by [[reason]] and factual analysis, rather than [[faith]], [[dogma]] or religious teaching.  [[Fideism]] holds that faith is necessary, and that beliefs must be held without evidence or reason, or even in conflict with evidence and reason.  [[Thomism]] holds that faith and rationality are compatible, so that the evidence and reason ultimately lead to belief in the objects of faith.
+Rationalists point out that many people hold irrational beliefs, for many reasons. There may be evolutionary causes for irrational beliefs—irrational beliefs may increase our ability to survive and reproduce.
+One more reason for irrational beliefs can perhaps be explained by operant conditioning. For example, in one study by [[B. F. Skinner]] in 1948, [[pigeon]]s were awarded grain at regular time intervals regardless of their behaviour. The result was that each of the pigeons developed their own idiosyncratic response which had become associated with the consequence of receiving grain.<ref name="Skinner">{{cite journal|last=Skinner|first=B. F.|title='Superstition' in the pigeon.|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology|date=1 January 1948|volume=38|issue=2|pages=168–172|doi=10.1037/h0055873|pmid=18913665|s2cid=22577459 }}</ref>
-==Relationship between faith and rationality==
-There are a number of views regarding the relationship between faith and rationality:
-* '''Faith as underlying rationality''': In this view, all human knowledge and reason is dependent on faith: faith in our senses, faith in our reason, faith in our memories, and faith in the accounts of events we receive from others.  Accordingly, since there is no way to test any of the above, there is no way to ''know'' anything unless we are first willing to have faith in our senses and reason.
-* '''Faith as unparsimonious with respect to rationality''': In this view, faith is seen as those beliefs that are [[parsimony|unparsimonious]], because [[Occam's Razor]] would remove them as being more than what is both true and sufficient to explain the physical evidence.  Accordingly, faith is seen as unnecessary and unreasonable with respect to rationality;
-* '''Faith as making claims that contradict rationality''': In this view, faith is seen as those views that one holds despite evidence and reason to the contrary.  Accordingly, faith is seen as pernicious with respect to rationality, as it requires counterfactual belief;
-* '''Faith as beliefs regarding issues beyond the realm of rationality''': In this view, faith is seen as covering issues which science and rationality are inherently incapable of addressing.  Accordingly, faith is seen as complementing rationality, by providing answers to questions that would otherwise be unanswerable;
+Believers in the value of faith—for example those who believe salvation is possible through faith alone—frequently suggest that everyone holds beliefs arrived at by faith, not reason.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rosental |first=Creighton J |date=2004-01-01 |title=The reconciliation of faith and reason in Thomas Aquinas |url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3136773 |journal=Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |pages=1–243}}</ref>
-==Various justifications and criticisms==
-The justifications for faith found in the responses of religious scholars and apologists generally are based on semantic strategies:
-# Less semantically precise definitions of rationalism that allow faith to be accommodated.
-# A more expansive definition of faith to include faith as a belief that rests on logical proof or material evidence.
-# A broadening of the definitions of proof, evidence, logic, rational, etc., to allow for a lower standard of proof.
+One form of belief held "by faith" may be seen existing in a faith as based on warrant. In this view some degree of evidence provides warrant for faith; it consists in other words in "explain[ing] great things by small."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hebrews 11 - Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Bible Commentaries |url=https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/pmc/hebrews-11.html |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=StudyLight.org |language=en}}</ref>
-Critics have responded by pointing out that this tactic is nothing more than a [[special pleading]] and hence makes a fallacious argument.
+== Christianity ==
-Another notable strategy to justify faith as rational has been to attack the [[epistemology|epistemological]] underpinnings of rationality by claiming that much unrelated knowledge enjoying wide acceptance is accepted as a matter of faith as well.  One example is that belief in distant, obscure countries rests solely on faith since there is no direct evidence available so we must rely on the statements people who claim first hand knowledge of the distant country.  By associating faith with widely accepted knowledge, those who make this argument hope to achieve an undermining of what constitutes [[Epistemology#Justified_true_belief|justified true belief]], a blurring of the distinction between [[Epistemology#Justification|knowledge]] and [[belief]], and to raise the stock of faith as a method for ascertaining knowledge by associating it with successful instances.  Critics point out that when we accept the evidence from others, we must have reason to believe that they know the truth, and that there's an important distinction between testimony of individuals that has the possibility of being corroborated and that which has no such possibility. In the case of distant lands, corroboration comes from others with first hand knowledge. But when someone claims to have supernatural knowledge, or the ability to gain knowledge in a way that you are unable to, their claims cannot be considered valid. If someone claims to be able to speak to their god, and tells us what god demands, we have no reason to accept it as true.
+{{Further|Faith in Christianity|Credo ut intelligam|Fides quaerens intellectum}}
+=== {{Anchor|Views of the Roman Catholic Church}}Catholic views ===
-Other people of faith have adopted the position that faith is implicitly irrational and have embraced the putative irrationality of faith as a demonstration of devotion to one's beliefs and deity.  For example, [[Fideism]] specifically recommends that one not be rational.
+[[Thomas Aquinas]] was the first to write a full treatment of the relationship, differences, and similarities between faith, which he calls "an intellectual assent",<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05752c.htm "Faith"] from the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''</ref> and reason.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12673b.htm "Reason"] from the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''</ref>
+''[[Dei Filius]]'' was a [[dogmatic constitution]] of the [[First Vatican Council]] on the [[Roman Catholic]] faith. It was adopted unanimously on 24 April 1870. It states that "not only can faith and reason never be opposed to one another, but they are of mutual aid one to the other".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds2.v.ii.i.html#v.ii.i-p21.5|title=Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical notes. Volume II. The History of Creeds.|work=ccel.org}}</ref>
-==See also==
+Recent [[pope]]s have spoken about faith and rationality: ''[[Fides et ratio]]'', an [[encyclical letter]] promulgated by [[Pope John Paul II]] on 14 September 1998, deals with the relationship between faith and reason. [[Pope Benedict XVI]]'s [[Regensburg lecture]], delivered on 12 September 2006, was on the subject of "faith, reason and the university".<ref>Benedict XVI, [https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg.html Faith, Reason and the University: Memories and Reflections], ''Holy See'' website, accessed 31 January 2024</ref>
-*[[William Alston]]
-*[[Alvin Plantinga]]
-*[[Epistemology]]
-*[[Theory of justification]]
-*[[Methods of obtaining knowledge]]
+=== Lutheran views ===
-==External Links==
+{{Empty section|date=November 2022}}
+=== Reformed views ===
+{{See also|Reformed epistemology}}
+[[Alvin Plantinga]] upholds that faith may be the result of evidence testifying to the reliability of the source of truth claims, but although it may involve this, he sees faith as being the result of hearing the truth of the gospel with the internal persuasion by the Holy Spirit moving and enabling him to believe. "Christian belief is produced in the believer by the internal instigation of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]], endorsing the teachings of [[Bible|Scripture]], which is itself divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. The result of the work of the Holy Spirit is faith."<ref>{{cite book|last=Plantinga|first=Alvin|title=Warranted Christian Belief|url=https://archive.org/details/warrantedchristi0000plan|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=USA|isbn=0195131924|pages=[https://archive.org/details/warrantedchristi0000plan/page/250 250], 291}}</ref>
+=== Evangelical views ===
+American biblical scholar [[Archibald Thomas Robertson]] stated that the Greek word ''pistis'' used for faith in the New Testament (over two hundred forty times), and rendered "assurance" in Acts 17:31 (KJV), is "an old verb to furnish, used regularly by Demosthenes for bringing forward evidence."<ref>{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=Archibald Thomas|title=WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT|pages=Chapter 17|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/robertson_at/wp_acts.xviii.html}}</ref>  Likewise Tom Price (Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) affirms that  when the New Testament talks about faith positively it only uses words derived from the Greek root [pistis] which means "to be persuaded."<ref>{{cite web|last=Price|first=Thomas|title=Faith is about 'just trusting' God isn't It?|date=9 November 2007|url=http://www.bethinking.org/bible-jesus/introductory/faith-is-about-just-trusting-god-isnt-it.htm|access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref>
+In contrast to faith meaning  blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence, [[Alister McGrath]] quotes Oxford Anglican theologian W. H. Griffith-Thomas (1861–1924), who states faith is "not blind, but intelligent" and "commences with the conviction of the mind based on adequate evidence", which McGrath sees as "a good and reliable definition, synthesizing the core elements of the characteristic Christian understanding of faith."<ref>{{cite book|last=McGrath|first=Alister E.|title=The Order of Things: Explorations in Scientific Theology|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1405125567|page=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrRZBOxJzDcC}}</ref>
+==Jewish views==
+The 14th-century [[Jewish philosopher]] [[Levi ben Gerson]] tried to reconcile faith and reason. He wrote: "the [[Torah|Law]] cannot prevent us from considering to be true that which our reason urges us to believe."<ref>{{Citation |last=Rudavsky |first=Tamar |title=Gersonides |date=2020 |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/gersonides/ |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |edition=Winter 2020 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=2022-11-18}}</ref>
+== Islamic view ==
+{{Empty section|date=November 2022}}
+==See also==
+{{Columns-list|colwidth=22em|
+* [[Christian apologetics]]
+** [[Evidential apologetics]]
+** [[Christian existential apologetics|Existential apologetics]]
+** [[Presuppositional apologetics]]
+* [[Dehellenization of Christianity]]
+* [[Divine illumination]]
+* [[Enlightenment in Buddhism]]
+* [[Essence–energies distinction]]
+* ''[[Faith and Philosophy]]''
+* [[Fideism]]
+* [[Methods of obtaining knowledge]]
+* [[Natural theology]]
+* [[Non-overlapping magisteria]]
+* [[Panrationalism]]
+* [[Philosophy of religion]]
+* [[Relationship between religion and science]]
+* [[Religious epistemology]]
+* [[Religious experience]]
+* [[Theistic rationalism]]
+* [[Theory of everything (philosophy)|Theory of everything]]
+* [[Theory of justification]]
+}}
+==References==
-===Apologetics and philosophical justifications of faith as rational===
+{{Reflist}}
-*[http://www.faithquest.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=listarticles&secid=15 Faithquest.com] published works of William Alston
-*[http://www.faithandphilosophy.com Faithandphilosophy.com] founded by [[William Alston]], [[Alvin Plantinga]], [[Nicholas Wolterstorff]], and Richard Mouw
-*[http://www.siu.edu/~scp/ Society of Christian Philosophers] founded again by [[William Alston]], [[Alvin Plantinga]], [[Nicholas Wolterstorff]], and Richard Mouw
-*[http://www.credenda.org/issues/8-4disputatio.php Faith, Reason, and Rationality] a debate between Douglas Jones and Michael Shermer from Credenda Agenda, a publication of the Presbyterian Church
-*[http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/faithandreason.html Faith and reason] the philosophy of religion website
+==Further reading==
-===Criticisms of faith as rational===
+*{{Cite web |last=Becker |first=Siegbert W. |date=1957 |title=Faith and Reason in Martin Luther |url=http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerFaith.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407083833/http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerFaith.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-07 |access-date=2014-04-06 |website=Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library online essay file}}
-*[http://importanceofphilosophy.com/Irrational_Faith.html Irrational Faith] Importanceofphilosophy.com
+*{{cite journal |first=Bruce D. |last=Marshall |author-link=Bruce D. Marshall |year=1999 |title=Faith and Reason Reconsidered: Aquinas and Luther on Deciding What is True |url=http://www.thomist.org/journal/1999/991aMars.htm |url-status=dead |journal=The Thomist |volume=63 |pages=1–48 |doi=10.1353/tho.1999.0041 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030904123507/http://www.thomist.org/journal/1999/991aMars.htm |archive-date=2003-09-04 |access-date=2011-05-11 |s2cid=171157642}}
+{{Epistemology}}
-===Historical overview of the relationship between faith and reason===
+{{Philosophy of religion}}
-*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/f/faith-re.htm Faith and Reason] Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
+{{Philosophy of science}}
+{{Philosophy topics}}
+{{Authority control}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Faith And Rationality}}
-[[Category:Epistemology]]
-[[Category:Religious philosophy and doctrine]]
+[[Category:Epistemology of religion]]
+[[Category:Philosophy and atheism]]
+[[Category:Religion and atheism]]
+[[Category:Religion and science]]
+[[Category:Religious belief and doctrine]]
+[[Category:Philosophy of religion]]
+[[Category:Faith]]

v t e Epistemology
Epistemologists	Thomas Aquinas Augustine of HippoлЬцУ William Alston Robert Audi A. J. Ayer George Berkeley Laurence BonJour Gilles Deleuze Keith DeRose René Descartes John Dewey Fred Dretske Edmund Gettier Alvin Goldman Nelson Goodman Paul Grice Anil Gupta Susan Haack David Hume Immanuel Kant Søren Kierkegaard Peter Klein Saul Kripke Hilary Kornblith David Lewis John Locke G. E. Moore John McDowell Robert Nozick Alvin Plantinga Plato Duncan Pritchard James Pryor Hilary Putnam W. V. O. Quine Thomas Reid Bertrand Russell Gilbert Ryle Wilfrid Sellars Susanna Siegel Ernest Sosa P. F. Strawson Baruch Spinoza Timothy Williamson Ludwig Wittgenstein Nicholas Wolterstorff Vienna Circle more...
Theories	Coherentism Constructivism Contextualism Empiricism Evolutionary epistemology Fallibilism Feminist epistemology Fideism Foundationalism Holism Infinitism Innatism Naïve realism Naturalized epistemology Phenomenalism Positivism Rationalism Reductionism Reliabilism Representational realism Skepticism Transcendental idealism
Concepts	A priori knowledge A posteriori knowledge Analysis Analytic–synthetic distinction Belief Common sense Descriptive knowledge Exploratory thought Epistemic injustice Epistemic virtue Gettier problem Induction Internalism and externalism Justification Knowledge Objectivity Privileged access Problem of induction Problem of other minds Perception Procedural knowledge Proposition Regress argument Simplicity Truth more...
Related articles	Outline of epistemology Faith and rationality Formal epistemology Metaepistemology Philosophy of perception Philosophy of science Social epistemology Virtue epistemology
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