1. Religious faith & reason: general introduction
The philosophical issues of religious faith & reason
1. The meaning of religious faith
2. The relationship between religious faith & reason
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2. Religious faith & reason: general introduction
The main positions on religions faith & reason
1. Fideism
Tertullian, c.160-c.225
His famous question: “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”
His answer
St. Francis of Assissi,
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3. Religious faith & reason: general introduction
Søren Kierkegaard (Danish, )
A brief critique of Fideism
How does one decide which religious faith to jump to?
The value of Fideism: religious faith is more than assent to cognitive claims; involves passion & trust & relationship with a person
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4. Religious faith & reason: general introduction
2. Hard rationalist & evidentialist position
Auguste Comte (French,
The law of three stages
theological
metaphysical
scientific (or positive)
Positivism
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5. Religious faith & reason: general introduction
A brief critique of hard rationalism & evidentialism
Comte has a naïve view of science-- a narrow empiricist view
He assumes that scientific method is the only avenue to truth
The self-reflexive move: can Comte’s law be established by the scientific method?
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6. Religious faith & reason: general introduction
3. The harmony position
Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215)
Anselm of Canterbury ( )
Aquinas ( )
And many others
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7. Aquinas on faith & reason
The harmony position
Thomas Aquinas (Tommaso d’Aquino) (Italian, )
born near Aquino to local gentry
at age of 5 sent to the Abbey of Monte Cassino
University of Naples
introduced to the writings of Aristotole
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8. Aquinas on faith & reason
Joined the Dominican order in c.1242
Went to the University of Paris; studied under Albert the Great
1256, received license to teach at Paris
Wrote two Summa
Died on way to the Second Council of Lyons
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9. Aquinas on faith & reason
Heritage
Turned medieval philosophy from Plato to Aristotle
Because the Council of Trent ( ) cited Aquinas as one of the leading theologian-philosophers of the Roman Church, his influence has been immense.
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10. Aquinas on faith & reason
Overview of Aquinas’s position on the relationship between religious faith & reason
1. Faith precedes reason
2. Reason alone cannot arrive at many of the propositions of religious faith; but once these propositions are available (by revelation), reason can show that they are reasonable.
Faith & Reason: general introduction

11. Aquinas on faith & reason
3. Religious faith is partly propositional; it makes truth-claims
4. In principle, religious faith & reason are in harmony (chapter 7).
5. In practice, they may conflict but when they do, reason must be wrong (chapter 7).
Faith & Reason: general introduction