The Reason, Faith, and Logos - Essay Example

? Reason, Faith, and Logos This essay considers the extent that religious faith has anything very significant to fear, or to gain, from the arguments of philosophers. Within this context of investigation the essay traces the interaction and clash of faith and reason from a variety of historical epochs. Specifically, Greek antiquity, the Christian tradition, Renaissance and Enlightenment thought, Hegel and Descartes, Existentialism and Pragmatism are considered. The research argues that while much of the rationality and conclusions reached in these historical investigations have since been discarded by contemporary thinkers one recognizes that in many instances faith-based investigation into god and reasoning have been aligned with each, as well as with traditional academics concerns, such as politics and culture. Introduction Foundational to spiritual and philosophical investigations are the notions of reason and faith. Adherents to faith argue that true recognition of god or the divine cannot be grasped through the implementation of modern notions of reason. These views are contrasted with the perspective of humanist philosophers who advance notions of reason and science as necessary foundations of knowledge. In The Gay Science section 125 Nietzsche proclaims that God is dead – adding that we have killed him. Bearing in mind the long history of philosophical reflection on the interrelation of reason and faith, this essay considers whether religious faith has anything very significant to fear, or to gain, from the arguments of philosophers. Analysis There exists considerable exploration into concerns specifically related to the interaction of faith and reason, with many philosophers and theologians contending that faith is not necessarily removed from reason. Indeed, religious theologians and philosophers to justify religious belief have used both of these concepts. Some contentious have argued that when reason is properly implemented it affirms faith; in this sense reason and faith implement essentially the same methodological means of grasping reality or the divine (Wolterstoff 1998). Still, other perspectives that are less stringent than these understandings indicate that while reason and faith adopt different processes of understanding the world, the use of reason will never be able to contradict faith, as faith is the ‘true’ grasp of this divine order (Wolterstoff 1998). However, other thinkers have argued that the very existence of a notion of ‘faith’ necessitates that it be in-direct contention with notions of reason (Alston 1998). Essentially, this argument considers that there would be no use for a faith concept if faith truly aligned itself with reason. Understandably there is a significant history of thought devoted to the notions of reason and faith and their interaction. One of the earliest recorded such philosophical considerations can be attributed to Greek antiquity. This period of philosophy, known as the classic period, witnessed an explosion of intellectual growth, as a variety of thinkers wrote and debated questions that ran to the essence of the universe and humanity’s place within it. While Judaic traditions were developed during this period, to a large degree their focus was on human existence; conversely, the Greek’s considered notions of faith in regards to larger cosmological concerns (Melchert 2002). To a degree it appears that two separate traditions of thought developed in Greek society, with one embracing religious beliefs and the other more philosophically based notions of reason (Melchert 2002). Still, these Greek belief patterns were not entirely exclusive. Some theorists contend that faith and reason interacted in Greek society through the mythmaking system that developed (Melchert 2002). In these regards, Greek gods emerged that also embodied some civic virtues. These virtues would then be dispersed down to daily life, as individuals would attempt to incorporate them into their value system and regular interactions. It was only later that philosophers would attempt to attach reason or rational significance to these mythological elements that influenced civic practice (Melchert 2002). From this perspective it seems that it is religious faith that has a greater influence on reason than on the later. While broad ranging theories regarding reason and faith in Greek antiquity point towards the primacy of faith based modes of understanding as leading civic life, more specific analysis demonstrates reveals further insights. Perhaps central to considerations of philosophy in Greek antiquity is the work of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. To a great extent these thinkers seem less to establish modes of structural organization for faith, but rather seem to indicate that there are underlining forms of reason or intellectual organization to the faith based modes of understanding (Melchert 2002). While there are a variety of potential examples to consider perhaps the most prominent is Plato’s notion of the forms. In these regards, Plato implemented faith-based logic in his assuming that there were underlining forms to things such as ‘good’ (Melchert 2002). While faith-based reasoning is the defining element of this philosophical notion, one recognizes that to an extent faith based modes of understanding could gain from the recognition of their positioning within the broader spectrum of such reasoning as it indicates areas where faith is viably the only alternative to gaining stable knowledge or meaning. To a great degree Aristotle extended Plato’s original investigations into theology and faith-based understandings, however he disagrees with many of Plato’s assumptions. One considers that Aristotle rejected Plato’s concepts of the forms (Melchert 2002). While Aristotle’s replacement for the Platonic system – the unmoved mover as an unchangeable cosmic entity – was not seemingly based on any firmer grounds, it is significant that he was able to freely challenge the earlier Platonic perspectives without being accused of heresy (Melchert 2002). In these regards, there is the recognition that philosophical based modes of investigation even when incorporating elements of faith, remain in the arena that is opening to continual challenge and reconsideration, whereas faith based modes of thought continually resist any form of amendment. Additionally, both thinkers embraced the notion of god, while at the same time implementing reason to do so. In these regards they experimented with the notion of religious apologetics. That is, the specific implementation of reason to prove the existence of a god or divine figure. Such explorations can be discovered in Plato’s Laws and Aristotle’s Physics. In his text, Aristotle demonstrated the existence of an unmoved mover from evidence reflected in the motion of the world (Pojman 1994). Plotinus, another prominent thinker from Greek antiquity similarly implemented notions of reason and faith in his own philosophical discourse (Pojman 1994). While Plato and Aristotle’s ideas on the divine seem to contradict each other, Plotinus’ perspective unites them under a single discourse. Similarly, while Plato relied on faith-based reason, albeit in a philosophical context, and Aristotle seems to have been more aligned with reasoning through the linking of his theoretical perspective with the motion of the planets, Plotinus offers a hybrid interpretation of reality implementing both reason and faith-based models (Melchert 2002). To an extent it appears that Plotinus’ modes of understanding reflect the earlier understood versions of faith that must be in-direct accord with reason. Plotinus perspective, as articulated in the Enneads, argues that all modes of being and value originate from a singular force in the universe; he equates this singular force with the form of the Good, as established in Plato’s faith based rationalizations, or possible Aristotle’s original mover (Melchert 2002). While this original element is largely based on faith, he further argues that individuals within contemporary existence can either choose to live their lives in accord with this original force, or instead operate away from it. In a sense this form of reasoning, while rooted in faith-based modes of understanding also attaches rational significance to these elements within ancient Greek civic life. This mode of understanding has been referred to as negative theology, as it divines God by all things he isn’t (Melchert 2002). Again this is an instance where faith and reason have been combined as a means of achieving a greater perspective on existence. There is the recognition with Plotinus and Aristotle, as well as to a lesser degree with Plato, that reason is able to function up to a specific level, but there are ultimately unanswerable questions. The notions of thought exemplified in the major ancient Greek thinkers seems to conflict with modern faith-based religious practices that choose to allow faith to dictate entire mythmaking systems. One considers that to a large extent these modern religious institutions are rooted in Judaic traditions that themselves were in existence during the period of Greek antiquity and Christian traditions that developed relatively soon after (Pojman 1994). While most individuals in Western culture are familiar with the foundational beliefs of the Christian Judaic traditions it is notable to consider them in relation to the thought process of the aforementioned Greek thinkers. While the Greek thinkers combined reason and faith-based modes of understanding in the development of a largely nebulous god concept that mirrors later transcendental notions, the Christian tradition embrace the notion of an all-powerful God – constituted by three figures -- who created the world in seven days. Additionally, they embraced a Jesus figure that sacrificed his life for the sins of humanity. While such considerations are entirely founded on faith there are also a number of ways that the Christian tradition embraced reason. One of the most prominent of the early Christian thinkers was St. Paul. One of the challenges in determining Paul’s stance on faith or reason in relation to Christianity is that there are a plethora of interpretations of his writings. What ultimately emerges are conflicting perspectives on the extent that Paul believed reason could function to reveal the truths about Christianity or whether there was a transcendent ‘revelation’ that occurred to some individuals allowing them to grasp this divine reality (McGrath 1995). In terms of the first perspective scholars argue that Paul directly engaged in philosophical discussions regarding Christianity and in a sense argued for a natural theology. Namely, these interpretations consider instances where Paul seems to argue that Christianity could be grasped through real world observation (Pojman 1994). Conversely, other interpretations argue that Paul neglected these modes of understanding and instead embraced the belief that the only way to truly grasp God’s existence was to experience the revelation process, wherein God miraculously reveals his presence (McGrath 1995). The distinction between Christianity as established through reason or faith has continued since the early period to develop two of the major sections of Christian thought. One Christian thinker that considered such issues, as well as implemented reason as a means to better understand Christianity was St. Augustine. Today Augustine has gained a seminal position in Christian theology for his deliberations on the topic. Augustine embraced notions of faith in grasping the divine essence of God. Still, Augustine also recognized that reason should be welcomed in Christian theology as a means of faith justifying itself (Pojman 1994). It seems, however, that Augustine placed a higher degree of importance on faith-based understanding than he did reason as a way of grasping the divine (Ehrman 2011). Perhaps controversially by contemporary standards St. Augustine argued that it was all right to implement pagan sciences to attempt to study the Christian faith. He believed that these perspectives could potentially illuminate elements of Christianity (Ehrman 2011). This is a significant consideration in light of contemporary discourse. It is not a drastic step to equate the 4th century pagan sciences that Augustine alludes to, to contemporary academic institutions. In Augustine’s time, as well as in contemporary circumstances, it is the church that is the final arbiter regarding decisions of religious doctrine; one considers the Catholic Church as retaining many of the hardline stances on revelation that emerged as early as St. Paul (Pojman 1994). Still, St. Augustine is arguing that there exists a divine essence that religious practitioners need not hide from reason. From a contemporary lens Augustine’s thought would potentially removed such decision making from the Catholic Church and place it in the context of reason or rational discourse that has been established by academic institutions. What emerge are views of faith that while adamantly criticizing pagan beliefs, have instead adopted a form of mysticism as a means of justifying their underlining claims to truth. Instead of such a stringent rejection of reason, it seems that religious discourse should openly recognize that their belief structures must exist in a dynamic process that functions in relation to faith elements. While significant theological considerations regarding faith and reason were explored during the Medieval Period to an extent these views can be linked to earlier ideas established by St. Paul and later St. Augustine. The next historical epochs to significantly deliberate on notions of faith and reason were the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. One of the primary considerations of this period was the recognition that forms of science and empirical knowledge had become highly developed since St. Paul’s early teachings. While during the early Christian period and the Medieval era there was a periodic linking of faith to reason, with the advancement of empirical modes of understanding faith and reason experience a much greater divide. One considers that the significant divide that occurred during this period resulted in some of the greatest missuses of faith in recorded human history. One of the most notable of these instances was Galileo’s rejection of the Ptolemaic system in favor of the Copernican model. While Galileo’s understanding was based on empirical evidence, the Catholic Church condemned his ideas and he was labeled a heretic. While many past conceptions had implemented reason to understand faith, it is clear that in this instance the Catholic Church demonstrated gross overreach of faith in their rejection and condemnation of Galileo’s empirically derived knowledge. Still, there were instances during this period where reason was implemented as a means of illuminating faith. One of the most prominent occurred with the philosophy of Rene Descartes. Descartes, through his Meditations, developed a system of reason that claimed to have determined the existence of God (Grayling 2005). While contemporary philosophers reject Descartes’ assumption that God exists since God cannot be a deceiver, it seems that there is strength gained when religious doctrine is subjected to the confines of rational thought. G.W.F. Hegel, another prominent Enlightenment thinker, implemented reason-based rationality as a means of justifying the notion of faith. To an extent it seems that Hegel’s notion of faith is removed from early notions, as it is more refined in its descriptive elements (Houlgate 2005). Still, much of what Hegel justified through rational means could potentially fall under the more primitive notions of revelation. Specifically, Hegel considered that there was too much emphasis in the world placed on empiricism as a means of understanding reality (Houlgate 2005). Hegel considered that much knowing occurs through internal emotions means of recognition, wherein two separate emotions emerged (Houlgate 2005). His affirmation of God was in the deterministic process where one of these specific emotional potentials was embrace over another. One considers that such modes of rationalization continue to influence post-modern theory in the institutional environment, leaving one to question why religious doctrine refuses to subject itself to cling to the nebulous notion of faith over academic investigation (Houlgate 2005). The 19th and 20th centuries witnessed other prominent considerations regarding reason and faith. One of the most prominent perspectives that emerged during that period was existentialism. Existentialism placed a strong emphasis on the individual and their personal creation of meaning (Solomon 1974). While Kierkegaard embraced the notion of God and faith, Nietzsche, as noted in the introduction, claimed that God is dead. Nietzsche’s belief is contingent on the notion of God as a social creation; instead Nietzsche argued that humans derive their own value system and embrace the will to power (Tanner 1994). While Nietzsche’s perspective may run extreme, it seems many of the existentialist emphasis on personal responsibility over blind allegiance to notions of faith is a strong aspect religion can learn from (Tanner 1994). Many of the world’s major belief systems are contingent on the notion of an afterlife and similar justifications for hardship. Existentialism argues that life should only be lived within the confines of reason, rather than religious doctrine determinable only by faith. The clear implications of such a consideration is the potential for individuals to not live their lives to the greatest capacity, since they believe the religious doctrine that indicates there will be an afterlife. Similarly, there is the potential that these individuals do not properly internalize external events and as such do not gain as much as they should from their experiences. Still, furthermore, the embracement of a faith-based mode of understanding oftentimes does merely function in the religious arena, but also extends into other aspects of the individual’s life. In these regards, the adoption of faith over reason in regards to God could have the potential impact of leading the individual to implement such logic in terms of politics or even to outright reject scientific findings. The obvious impact of such a world-view is dangerous not only to the individual, but to the society they live and are expected to make equal contributions. Another prominent perspective that emerged during this period was pragmatism, which situated faith as at times necessary to act in the world. Finally, this time period witnessed the emergence of Darwin’s theory of natural selection and evolutionary theory. Like Galileo before him, Darwin’s theory of evolution is grounded in scientific evidence, however faith-based modes of reasoning from religious institutions have frequently failed to embrace the theory because it contradicts doctrine (Helm 1999). It seems in such instances that faith again has overstepped its boundaries and must be realigned with reason. While such large-scale attacks of reason on religious doctrine occur infrequently, one considers that there may be many small instances wherein the subjection of religion to more rational or empirical modes of investigation could reveal and sharpen theological practice. Conclusion In conclusion, this essay has considered the extent that religious faith has anything very significant to fear, or to gain, from the arguments of philosophers. While much of the rationality and conclusions reached in these historical investigations have since been discarded by contemporary thinkers one recognizes that in many instances faith-based investigation into god and reasoning have been aligned with each, as well as with traditional academics concerns, such as politics and culture. Today such considerations surrounding religion have been seemingly discarded such that religious studies only consider historical or socio-cultural elements surrounding religion. What emerge are views of faith that while adamantly criticizing pagan beliefs, have instead adopted a form of mysticism as a means of justifying their underlining claims to truth. Questions of the existence of god are entirely left to faith-based modes of understanding, which remain largely static even in the face of overwhelming contradictory scientific evidence. It appears that the inclusion of religion within the realm of rational investigation would not necessarily cease the institution of religion, but rather establish more stringent foundations for the truth claims that exist therein. Instead of such a stringent rejection of reason, it seems that religious discourse should openly recognize that their belief structures must exist in a dynamic process that functions in relation to faith elements. Ultimately, such considerations could extend religion outside of its marginal bounds to a position of even greater social prominence. References Alston, W. (1998) “History of Philosophy of Religion.” The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 8. Ed. E. Craig. New York: Routledge. Ehrman, B (2011). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Oxford University Press Grayling, A.C. (2005). Descartes: The Life and times of a Genius. New York: Walker Publishing Co. Helm, P. (1999). Faith and Reason. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Houlgate, S. (2005). An Introduction to Hegel. Freedom, Truth and History. Oxford: Blackwell McGrath, A. (1995). The Christian Theology Reader. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Melchert, N (2002). The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. New York: McGraw Hill. Pojman, L. (1994). Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. 2nd ed. Belmont CA.: Wadsworth. Solomon, R. (1974). Existentialism. New York: The Modern Library. Tanner, M (1994). Nietzsche. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wolterstoff, N. (1998) “Faith.” The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 3. Ed. E. Craig. London: Routledge Read More