IBN RUSHD ON RELIGIOUS FAITH REASON Ibn Rushd

IBN RUSHD ON RELIGIOUS FAITH & REASON Ibn Rushd (Averroes) 1126 -1198; born in Cordova, Spain; At the time, Cordova was one of the most civilized cities in Europe. Translated and Commented on Aristotle and his commentary is available to Europeans a 100 years later Aquinas refers to Averroes as “The Commentator” and Aquinas likely borrowed material and thoughts from Averroes

AVERROES CONSIDERS THE FAITH VS REASON APPARENT DILEMMA Truths arrived at by philosophy and those found in scripture cannot clash. What if the apparent meaning of scripture clashes with philosophy? This is a clue which indicates that we ought to interpret the scripture allegorically (metaphorically). Why has scripture been revealed with both an apparent meaning and an inner meaning? Averroes: Because of the diversity of people’s ability to understand.

THOMAS AQUINAS • 1225 -1274 • Latin version of Aristotle corpus arrives in Europe. Aquinas pours over it. • Aquinas basically is responsible for the ‘rebirth of reason’ as articulated by Aristotle • Aquinas: God leads humans to a rational and moral life • Aristotle: Rationality and morality are inherent qualities in humans. • In this way, the Christian God has endowed humans with the qualities that Aristotle frequently writes about

AQUINAS = ARISTOTLE OF THE 13 TH CENTURY • Man can know of the world only that which he learns from experience but this sets limits to what can be known. Therefore “how can we reconcile faith and reason? ” • The world is intelligible to the rational man. Whatever exists can be understood and has a set of causes. These causes can be known through experience and (rational) reflection. • Aquinas found truth in logical argument -- if you could argue back and forth successfully, then you could find the first principle or first cause. (e. g. Aristotle) • Reformulates Aristotle so that the Prime Mover in fact, is God. (although this is a controversial interpretation) • Aquinas utilized Aristotelian logic as an instrument of both theological and philosophical analysis. Faith and reason are two roads to a single truth. What reason cannot uncover, faith will. Therefore, all has an explanation; there is no mystery.

Separation of Reason and Faith • Knowing applies to the domain of reason: • Any truth humans gain apart from divine revelation is acquired by the unaided light of the intellect Observed Event Sensed Experience Intellect now becomes aware of this and can start to process it to become a “Truth” (this will later be amplified by Descartes and Kant) Believing applies to the domain of revelation • Truths based on faith are acquired by believing the authoritative word of God 5

Natural Law • • Aquinas takes insights present in Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics (such as Epictetus and Cicero) He then sifts them through a Christian filter The result is a powerful tool for coaxing non. Christians to an awareness of objective moral standards This will become very important in the way culture behaves in the future – but is there such a thing? Natural law shows up in our Declaration of Independence, the Civil Rights Movement, and the ethical positions of the Catholic Church 6

Important Quotes at this time • “Through doubting we come to inquiry, and through inquiry we perceive the truth. ” (Aberlard 1120) (500 years before Descartes) • To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. (Aquinas) • Distinctions drawn by the mind are not necessarily equivalent to distinctions in reality. (Aquinas/ Descartes) • Most men seem to live according to sense rather than reason. (Aquinas/Descartes/Kant)