Faith and Reason Study Notes

Reason is Necessary for Faith to be Proper
   - W. K. Clifford (20th Century Philosopher):
     - Argued: "It is wrong… for anyone to believe anything on insufficient evidence."
     - Implication: Belief should be based on adequate evidence; insufficient warrant leads to moral failure in belief.
Reason Does Not Run Counter to Faith (Can Be Helpful)
   - Historical Figures:
     - Ibn Sina (Avicenna) - 10th century philosopher.
     - Ibn Rushd (Averroes) - 12th century philosopher.
     - St. Anselm - 11th century philosopher:
       - Adopting the concept of "faith seeking understanding."
     - Maimonides - 11th century rabbi and philosopher.
     - Thomas Aquinas - 13th century theologian and philosopher.
   - Summary: These thinkers suggest that reason aids in understanding and deepening faith.
Reason is Irrelevant (Can Even Be a Distraction)
   - John Calvin - 16th century Protestant Reformer.
   - Søren Kierkegaard - 19th century philosopher and founder of Existentialism.
   - Conclusion: Emphasis on faith beyond rational inquiry.
Reason Destroys Faith (It is an Enemy)
- Miguel Unamuno - 20th century philosopher.
- Argument: True faith requires an element of doubt which can only be transcended through passionate belief.

Book Title: "The Ethics of Belief"
   - Asserts that believing on insufficient evidence is morally wrong.
   - Suggests that in any situation where there is insufficient warrant for a belief, one should withhold judgment, similar to scientific methodology.
   - Addresses the moral obligation of believers yet questions the generalizability of this moral principle.

Blaise Pascal - 17th century philosopher, scientist, and mathematician.
- Personal belief in God and regarded as deeply religious.
- Wrote Pascal's Wager to illustrate faith's reasonableness, especially in the absence of rational clarity about God's existence.

Scenarios in Life Choices:
  - If God Exists:
    - Believe: Infinite gain
    - Do Not Believe: Finite loss
  - If God Does Not Exist:
    - Believe: Infinite loss
    - Do Not Believe: Finite gain

William James - 19th century American philosopher.
   - Rejected Pascal’s wager on the grounds that faith derived from selfish calculations is not genuine faith.
   - Introduced the concept of belief based on a “passional nature” under specific conditions:
     - Living Option vs. Dead Option (choices that matter).
     - Forced Option vs. Avoidable Option.
     - Momentous Option vs. Trivial Option.

Søren Kierkegaard - 19th century Danish philosopher.
   - Emphasized limitations of human knowledge, asserting that uncertainty is inherent in human existence.
   - Proposes the idea of a “leap of faith,” indicating a necessity for faith beyond intellectual assent.
   - Differentiate between two senses of “faith”:
     - "Belief that" (intellectual assent).
     - "Belief in" (trust).
   - Asserts that true faith lies in trust, similar to enlightenment in Buddhism.

Positivism - 19th to 20th century philosophical movement.
   - Principle of Verification: A statement is meaningful only if it can be verified through empirical investigation.
   - A critique arose against this principle by the late 1970s, noting significant limitations:
     - The self-defeating nature of the verification principle, which discredits moral claims as meaningless.
   - A.J. Ayer, a defender of positivism, reflects on the movement's failures:
     - Most of the principles were recognized as inaccurate.

Freud and Other Theorists:
- Propose that God may be a "psychological projection" of humanity's deep-seated needs for authority and protection (father figure).
- Richard Dawkins: Suggests that religious beliefs arise from evolutionary adaptations—like survival mechanisms in nature, e.g., moths navigating by starlight.

John Hick - Religious studies scholar and theologian.
   - Challenges Freud's projection theories since they don't conclude the non-existence of God.
   - Points out the Genetic Fallacy or Fallacy of False Dichotomy:
     - Suggests that just because a religious belief has social utility does not mean it lacks truth.
   - Quote: “The mere fact that a religious message comes as good news does not entail that it is not true; this must be established on other grounds.”

Alvin Plantinga - 20th century philosopher.
   - Contended that individuals must have certain beliefs that are not based on argument (properly basic beliefs) that serve as foundations for further beliefs.
   - Skeptics might claim only self-evident or obvious empirical claims are valid as basic beliefs; however, Plantinga questions:
     - Why are those beliefs more valid than others, given that all basic beliefs are unargued for?

Discussion on the possibility of believer's capacity to hold the existence of God as a properly basic belief.
- Emphasizes its significance in their quest for understanding the world.
- Plantinga clarifies he is not dismissing scrutiny of the existence of God or non-religious basic beliefs, but emphasizes that everyone holds some foundational beliefs that are based on faith rather than argument.