Faith And Reason The Double Sidedness Of Faith And Reason And Their Role In A Meaningful Life

The relation between faith and reason is a historically important philosophical problem discussed andrndebated among philosophers, theologians and scientists in the history of Western philosophy in generalrnand philosophy of religion in particular. In spite of many attempts by many scholars to shed light on thisrnphilosophical problem, it is still a lingering question. Basically, different scholars that have worked onrnthis philosophical problem categorize in one of the following approaches. The different approachesrnregarding this philosophical problem are fidesim, rationalism, pragmatism and critical rationalism. Therntwo approaches, particularly, rationalism and fidesim advocate the extreme positions regarding thernrelation between faith and reason. They created a false dichotomy between faith and reason. I use thernterms "faith-only position” and “reason-only position” to represent the epistemological positions ofrnfideism and rationalism, respectively. However, faith properly understood, does not contradict reason.rnThe alleged contradiction between faith and reason arises out of misconceptions that we have about thernconcept of faith. People believe that the investigations and findings of the natural sciences and beliefsrnheld by faith are necessarily opposed to one another or can coexist. Others contend that if they canrnpeacefully coexist it is, only in separate compartments, completely sealed off from one another. In thisrnthesis, I argue that science and faith are not only mutually exclusive, but actually coexist well together.rnIndeed, the proper development of both is necessary for holistic personal growth and for an authenticrnhumanity. There is also a wide spread and largely unquestioned tendency to assume that faith is confinedrnto the province of religion, and that to have faith is necessarily to be religious. However, this way ofrnunderstanding the concept of faith arises out of the belief that faith is the exclusive property of religiousrnpeople. Faith is not the exclusive property of religious people; rather it is a basic feature of human life.rnFaith exits in its different forms and various types. There are both religious and secular forms of faiths.rnFaith, in this existential sense, is not opposed to reason rather they mutually support each other and workrntogether. Therefore, I argue for the double sidedness of faith and reason in a meaningful life. By “double sidedness” I mean that there is a complementary relation between faith and reason. Therefore, we can talk about “reasonable faith” and “faithful reason” at the same time. Thus, a rationally examined life is perfectly consistent with a life that not only involves, but also requires, some kind of faith. Thus, faith and reason are not necessarily opposed epistemic states

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