Much of the fights over faith and reason are, at bottom, fights over ill-defined words. Going back to the origin of the two words clears up the misunderstanding.
Reason: ratio and logos
Reason comes from the Latin ratio, which the Romans used to translate the Greek logos. Logos is a rich word: it means, at the same time, calculation, proportion, measure, speech and reason. Thinking, in this tradition, is measuring reality, giving it proportion, finding the order that is already there.
Faith: fides, pistis and emunah
Faith comes from the Latin fides, which means trust and fidelity. In Greek, pistis. In Hebrew, the root emunah carries the idea of firmness, of something on which the weight of the body can be supported. In none of these languages does the word mean believe without reason.
The opposite of faith is distrust
In modern usage, faith has become synonymous with a leap in the dark. The original word doesn't say that. Faith is well-founded trust, the kind of trust you place in a tried friend, not a stranger. Therefore, the opposite of faith is not reason. The opposite of faith is distrust.
In-depth study
Church History Course, with Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Bitencourt
In-depth reading of the work of Daniel Rops, where the alliance between faith and reason and Augustine's conversion appear in full.
Discover the courseFrequently asked questions
Where does the word reason come from?
From the Latin ratio, used to translate the Greek logos, which means calculation, proportion, measure, speech and reason. Thinking is finding the order that already exists in reality.
Where does the word faith come from?
From the Latin fides, trust and fidelity. In Greek it is pistis; The Hebrew root emunah carries the idea of firmness, of something on which the weight of the body can rest.
Does faith mean believing without proof?
Not at the origin. Faith is well-founded trust, like that you have in a tried friend. The opposite of faith is not reason, it is distrust.
Continue: Faith and reason: rivals, separate or allies? · Credo ut intelligam · Fides quaerens intellectum
Home class (Community NousCast): Fé e Razão (Fides et Ratio)