Fides et ratio

 encyclical promulgated by Pope John Paul II

 one of 14 encyclicals issued by John Paul II.
 The encyclical primarily addresses the relationship between faithand reason.

Issue to be addressed

 The pope wished to defend the capacity of human reason to know the reason to the
existence of ultimate and objective truth
 One of the most striking indications of the contemporary lack of confidence in truth is
the tendency found among some to rest content with partial and provisional truths, “no
longer seeking to ask the meaning and ultimate foundation of human, personal and
social existence”
 Many people settled to believe that the only truths are those which can be
demonstrated by experience or scientific experimentation.
 By being satisfied with experimental and incomplete knowledge, reason fails to do
justice to the mystery of the human person, made for the truth and deeply eager of
knowing the truth

Fides et ratio

 Man searches to find the ultimate truth about himself, his world and the ultimate
meaning of this existence
This is made evident in the ancient history and in the temple of Delphi where the
inscription of ‘man knows thyself’ is made as an admonition to those who wish to realize
the truth within the horizon of personal self-consciousness as their pursuit to be human
beings.
The Holy Father then stressed that “the more human beings know reality and the
world, the more they know themselves in their uniqueness”.11 That is to say that “the
object of our knowledge becomes part of our life”12. This defines man as a being with or
relation with himself, his world, people and most importantly with God who is the
ultimate truth and giver of life and existence.

 Reason prepares the way to faith. St. Justin and the apologists used philosophy as a
“preamble” to faith
philosophy has to do with the study of ultimate truth, critical enquiry, logical analysis,
intelligent questioning, and interpretation of facts under the natural light of reason
 Reason can show that that there is a God and can demonstrate his primary attributes
such as his power and divinity
  Reason lays the foundation for faith and makes revelation credible. Reason is thus
the common ground between believers and unbelievers
 Faith without reason withers into myth or superstition
 Deprived of reason, faith is left with only feelings and experience. It loses its
universality.

 Human reason is inherently weak and inclined to error.

Deprived of revelation, reason can go off track and miss its destination.
 Faith proposes truths that might never have been discovered by unaided reason.
For example, the notions of free will and a personal God who is the Creator of the
world have been crucial for the development of a philosophy of being.
 Faith gives the philosopher the courage to tackle difficult questions
such as the ultimate answers to man's questions about pain, suffering of the
innocent, and death are found in Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection.
 Faith and spiritual life protect the philosopher from intellectual pride that would impede
his ability to search for the truth.
Faith, strengthened by love, facilitates the intellectual grasp of the truth about man
and his real needs