Faith and reason provide science the ethical principles it cannot elaborate, says Pope
John Paul II wrote this ten years ago in the encyclical Fides et ratio (faith and reason) which Benedict XVI referred to today in his address to the participants in an international conference organised by the Pontifical Lateran University to commemorate the document that is “characterised by its great openness to reason, especially in a period in which there is speculation about its weakness.”
In this encyclical John Paul II underlined the importance of “uniting faith and reason in a reciprocal relationship, while respecting the autonomy proper to each.” With it the Church “sought to defend the force of reason and its capacity to arrive at truth, while once again presenting the faith as a specific form of knowledge thanks to which we open to the truth of Revelation (cf Fides et ratio, 13).
A look at history shows that “goals reason can reach when moved by passion for truth. Who can deny the contribution the great philosophical systems have made to the development of man's self-knowledge and to the progress of various cultures?”
“Nonetheless, we cannot conceal the fact that there has been a slide from a prevalently speculative form of thought to a chiefly empirical one. Research has turned to focus above all on the observation of nature in the attempt to discover its secrets. And the desire to understand nature has then been transformed into the desire to reproduce it.”
This has not been without consequences. “Scientific and technological progress, which fides is increasingly called to confront, has altered the old concept of ratio; in some way it has marginalised the reason that sought the ultimate truth of things to make way for a reason that satisfies itself with discovering the contingent truths of the laws of nature.”
Sadly, research has not always been directed at what is good for mankind. “Easy profits or even worse the arrogance of replacing the Creator play at times a determining role. This is a kind of hubris found in reason that can take on dangerous traits for humanity itself.”
Furthermore, “science is not capable of establishing ethical principles. It can only receive and acknowledge them in order to wipe out any eventual pathology. In this context, philosophy and theology become an indispensable aid which must be taken into account to ensure that science does not advance alone along a difficult path full of pitfalls and not without risks. This does not mean limiting scientific research or prevent technology from creating tools for development. It means instead keeping alive the sense of responsibility which reason and faith must have towards science, to ensure it remains at the service of man.”
“Reason,” said the Pope, “discovers that beyond its own achievements and conquests there exists a truth that can never be discovered by using its own parameters, but only received as a gratuitous gift. The truth of Revelation is not superimposed on the truth achieved by reason; rather it purifies and exalts reason, enabling it to expand beyond its confines to become part of a field of research as unfathomable as the mystery itself.”
“Revealed truth in ‘the fullness of time’ (Gal, 4:4) took on the face of a person, Jesus of Nazareth, who brought the ultimate and definitive answer to man’s quest for meaningfulness. Christ’s truth, since it touches each person seeking joy, happiness and meaningfulness, surpasses by far any other truth that reason can find. It is around this mystery, that fides and ratio can find a real possibility for a journey together.”
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