Faith and Reason
During a particularly serene autumn afternoon, two lovers leisurely strolled down a winding path as autumn leaves descended gently from the sky. The young couple held hands and felt the vigor of youth flow in and through them as vividly as they felt the crisp air of fall billowing in and out of their nostrils. One of the lovers was a young man, no older than twenty five. He possessed a rare and saintly beauty, the focal point of which was his razor sharp gaze. His companion was a woman of equal beauty.
“I have… always loved the writing of Friedrich Nietzsche.” The woman declared earnestly. “In my mind, he is and always will be the greatest thinker in modern history…Do you have a favorite philosopher?” The woman inquired.
“A favorite philosopher?” The man searched his mind for a brief moment. “I suppose that I admire Rene Descartes above all other great thinkers.” The man declared.
“Why Descartes above all others?” The woman inquired further.
“I admire Descartes so greatly because he is the father of rationalism.” The man answered.
“What is it that draws you to rationalism?” The man’s lover inquired.
“I find the underlying premise to be infinitely beautiful. The rationalists believe that the foundation of all truth is logic and reason. In my mind, rationality is the height of human existence. It is logic that has afforded us technology, medicine, law, and civilization itself. Without reason, humanity is nothing more than a race of hairless primates. Without logic, life would be characterized by violence and suffering. Does it not seem fit, then, for logic to be the underlying foundation of all knowledge and truth?” The man finished.
“I don’t agree, my love. It is true, as you say, that logic has afforded humanity the luxuries of technology and order. However, I would counter that reason, alone, cannot hope to resolve the fundamental problems that characterize human existence. Reason cannot allow us to know if there is life after death. Reason cannot allow us to know if there is such a thing as ultimate and objective truth. Think of Schrödinger’s cat. Quantum mechanics teaches us that an organism can simultaneously be both dead and alive. Reason itself teaches us that the universe is, in its very nature, contradictory. How then, can reason lead us to truth?”
