Faith and rationality
Concepts exploring the interplay of belief and reason.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Faith and rationality are concepts that describe the relationship between belief based on inspiration, revelation, or authority and belief based on reason or facts. The degree of conflict or compatibility between them varies, and the word 'faith' can refer to belief held independently of reason or based on evidential warrant.
- field
- Philosophy of religion, theology
- known_for
- Debate over the compatibility of faith and reason
Lore & Background
Rationalists point out that many people hold irrational beliefs, possibly due to evolutionary causes that increase survival and reproduction. Operant conditioning may also explain irrational beliefs, as shown in a 1948 study by B. F. Skinner where pigeons developed idiosyncratic responses associated with receiving grain at regular intervals. Believers in the value of faith, such as those who hold salvation is possible through faith alone, suggest that everyone holds beliefs arrived at by faith, not reason. One view sees faith as based on warrant, where some degree of evidence provides justification, 'explain[ing] great things by small.' Earlier figures like Augustine and Anselm wrote extensively on the relationship between faith and reason before Thomas Aquinas, who defined faith as an intellectual assent involving the will and grace.
Reader's Guide
The relationship between faith and rationality has been a central topic in theology and philosophy. Thomas Aquinas provided the first full treatment, describing faith as 'an intellectual assent.' The First Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution Dei Filius, adopted unanimously on 24 April 1870, states that faith and reason can never be opposed and are of mutual aid. Recent popes have addressed the topic: Pope John Paul II's encyclical Fides et ratio (14 September 1998) and Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg lecture (12 September 2006) on 'faith, reason and the university.' In Reformed views, Alvin Plantinga sees faith as produced by the Holy Spirit's internal persuasion, endorsing Scripture. Evangelical views, citing Archibald Thomas Robertson and Tom Price, emphasize that the Greek word pistis means 'to be persuaded,' and Alister McGrath quotes W. H. Griffith-Thomas that faith is 'not blind, but intelligent' and based on adequate evidence. The Jewish philosopher Levi ben Gerson wrote that 'the Law cannot prevent us from considering to be true that which our reason urges us to believe.'
Did You Know?
- Rationalists note that irrational beliefs may have evolutionary causes that increase survival and reproduction.
- In a 1948 study by B. F. Skinner, pigeons developed idiosyncratic responses associated with receiving grain at regular intervals.
- Augustine and Anselm wrote extensively on faith and reason before Thomas Aquinas, who defined faith as an intellectual assent involving the will and grace.
- The Greek word pistis, used for faith in the New Testament, primarily means relational trust or belief, not merely intellectual persuasion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the faith and rationality debate actually about?
It is a long-running philosophical and theological discussion over whether convictions grounded in revelation, inspiration, or religious authority can coexist with beliefs grounded in logic and empirical evidence, or whether the two inevitably clash.
Do faith and reason have to be opposites?
Not necessarily. The degree of tension between them depends heavily on how each term is defined, and many thinkers throughout history have argued the two are complementary rather than contradictory.
Who are the major thinkers associated with the faith-versus-reason discussion?
Thomas Aquinas, who tried to weave Aristotelian logic into Christian doctrine, and Søren Kierkegaard, who stressed a 'leap' of commitment that transcends rational proof, sit on opposite ends of the spectrum.
What's the difference between faith as blind belief and faith with evidential warrant?
In one common usage, faith means holding a conviction with no rational support at all, whereas in another it refers to a belief that is justified by evidence yet still exceeds what can be fully demonstrated or logically proven.
Why does the faith-and-rationality question still matter in philosophy of religion?
It shapes how believers and skeptics frame arguments about God's existence, the authority of sacred texts, and the boundaries of human understanding, making it a central fault line in the field.
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