5. Faith and Knowledge: Can Faith Be Known?

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Question: Can Faith Be About What Is Known? #

• Central Problem: If some things of faith can be demonstrated (proven by reason), does this mean they are knowledge rather than faith?
• Key Principle: The same thing can be known by one person and believed by another, depending on whether they possess the demonstration

Distinction Between Knowledge and Faith #

• Knowledge (Scientia/Episteme): Understanding something through demonstration; seeing that something cannot be otherwise
  • Derived from Latin scientia and Greek episteme
  • Episteme contains the idea of “coming to a halt” (the mind stops reasoning when it has certainty)
  • Requires principles known to themselves
• Faith (Fides): Assent to what is not seen, held through the light of faith
  • The faithful know these things are believable through faith, not through the things in themselves
  • A stronger hold on truth than opinion, though not as certain as demonstration
• Opinion (Opinio): A weaker form of assent that fears the opposite might be true
  • Can be about the same thing as knowledge, but held with less certainty
  • Differs from both knowledge and faith in its character

The Simply/Somewhat Distinction (Simpliciter vs. Secundum Quid) #

• Simply (Simpliciter): Something is universally and necessarily true for all
• Somewhat (Secundum Quid): Something is partially true or true for some but not all
• Application to Faith: God’s existence can be known simply (through demonstration) but is a matter of faith somewhat (for those without the demonstration)
  • Aristotle knew God exists (through natural reason)
  • Most people believe God exists (through faith) without the demonstration
  • Therefore, God’s existence is a matter of faith somewhat, not simply
• Critical Error: Confusing these two senses leads to the fallacy of equivocation

What the Faithful Know About Faith #

• Infidels have ignorance of faith: they neither see these things in themselves nor know them to be believable
• The faithful have a special knowledge: they see (through the light of faith) that these things should be believed, even though they don’t see the things themselves
  • This is not demonstrative knowledge (not from principles known to themselves)
  • Rather, it is conviction through faith that these truths are to be assented to

Key Arguments #

Objection 1: If Things Can Be Demonstrated, They Are Knowledge, Not Faith #

• Berquist’s Explanation: Some things of faith (like God’s existence) can be demonstrated by natural reason
• Resolution: Such things are matters of faith for those who don’t have the demonstration, but not simply matters of faith
  • They are presupposed to faith, necessary background for those lacking demonstration
  • But they are not simply (for everyone) matters of faith alone
  • The Trinity, by contrast, is simply a matter of faith for all (cannot be demonstrated)

Objection 2: Scripture Contains Countless Things to Believe; They Cannot Form Articles #

• Response: Not all things in Scripture are equally principal; some are proposed for the sake of manifesting other things
• Principle: In any science, some things are per se intended, others proposed for manifestation of the principal things

Objection 3: Opinion and Knowledge Can Be About the Same Thing #

• Objection: If opinion and knowledge can concern the same subject (one man guesses, another knows), why can’t faith and knowledge?
• Response: By diverse men, yes; by the same man about the same thing in the same way, no
  • A doctor may know some things wrong with a patient and guess about others (different objects)
  • But one man cannot simultaneously know something and believe it about the same thing in the same respect
  • Why: Because knowledge requires seeing (certainty that it cannot be otherwise), while faith requires not seeing
  • Scientia means the known thing is estimated to be impossible to be otherwise
  • Fides means assent to what is not seen, yet also held firmly (impossible to be otherwise for the one who believes)

Important Definitions #

Key Terms from Latin #

• Scientia: Knowledge properly so called; requires demonstration from principles known to themselves
• Fides: Faith; assent of the understanding to what is not seen
• Episteme: Greek term for knowledge; contains the sense of coming to a halt or stopping (the mind reaches certainty)
• Demonstratio: Demonstration; a syllogism that makes us know something through its cause
• Ignorancia: Ignorance; absence of knowledge. When combined with infidelity, it means not knowing even that something should be believed
• Credibilia: Things believable; the objects of faith

Examples & Illustrations #

Pythagorean Theorem #

• Most people believe the Pythagorean Theorem before seeing its demonstration
• This belief provides foundation for later understanding
• Analogous to faith: it precedes and prepares for knowledge

St. Paul’s Conversion #

• Before conversion, Paul persecuted the Church in ignorance (ignorancia)
• His ignorance was combined with infidelity (not knowing these things should be believed)
• God forgave him because he acted in ignorance and incredulity

God’s Existence #

• Aristotle: Knew God exists and that God is simple, pure act (demonstrated this through natural reason)
• Most People: Believe God exists through faith, without the demonstration
• Trinity: Cannot be known by natural reason; is simply a matter of faith for all, including Thomas Aquinas and other saints

Euclid’s Elements #

• Axioms and postulates are known to themselves
• From these, all other propositions are demonstrated
• Analogous to faith: foundational principles from which understanding develops

Washington Irving Anecdote #

• Irving visited Walter Scott and witnessed Scott’s humor
• When discussing someone’s death, Scott said: “If he didn’t die, they treated him very badly—because they buried him”
• Illustrates the logical connection: if buried, then dead (burial follows from death)
• Analogous to how suffering, death, and burial of Christ follow from one another

Questions Addressed #

Can Things of Faith Be Known? #

Answer: Yes, but with important qualifications:

• Some things of faith can be known through natural reason (like God’s existence), but only for those who have the demonstration
• For those without the demonstration, these things remain matters of faith
• Things simply of faith (like the Trinity) cannot be known by any natural reason; all must believe them
• The faithful possess a kind of knowledge through faith: they see that these things are believable and are to be assented to, though they don’t see the things in themselves

How Can One Person Know What Another Believes? #

Answer:

• The thing is the same, but the way of holding it differs
• A saint like Thomas Aquinas might know some things about God that the average believer only believes
• Even in this life, some truths are seen by one (angels see the Trinity) and believed by others
• Therefore, what one person sees (knows), another can believe

What About Giving Reasons for Faith? #

• St. Peter’s Command: “Always be ready to give a reason for the faith that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15)
• Distinction: These reasons are not demonstrations but rather:
  • Persuasions showing it is not impossible what is proposed in faith
  • Reasonings from the principles of faith (authorities of Scripture) itself
  • Not reasoning from naturally known principles to demonstrate faith’s truths
• Theology as Science: Theology is a science subordinated to the knowledge of those in heaven who see the articles of faith
  • Just as one science can be subordinated to another (geometry to astronomy) for its principles
  • So theology uses faith’s principles to reason from one article to another

Is There a Difference Between What Infidels and Faithful Know? #

Answer: Yes, fundamentally different relationships to faith:

• Infidels: Have ignorance of faith; do not see these things in themselves, and do not even know them to be believable
• Faithful: Have a knowledge that is distinct from both ignorance and from seeing the thing itself
  • They see through the light of faith that these things are to be believed
  • This is not demonstrative knowledge but conviction of the intellect
  • It is more certain than opinion (less fear of the opposite) because held through faith

Notable Quotes #

“St. Paul tells us to have a reason for the faith that is in us.” — 1 Peter 3:15, cited by Berquist

“I did this in my incredulity.” — St. Paul, cited regarding his pre-conversion ignorance

“We see now through a glass, in an enigma, in a kind of dark way… But then we will see face to face.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12, cited to show the progression from faith to vision

“It’s not necessary to understand the word necessary like it’s necessary that two be half of four. But if you want to understand demonstration, for example, then you must understand the word necessary.” — Berquist, distinguishing senses of ’necessary'

“The one approaching God is necessary to believe that he is and that to those seeking him, he is the rewarder.” — Hebrews 11:6, cited to show necessity of faith for reaching God

“Aristotle proved that God exists… he would come already knowing that God exists.” — Berquist, on natural knowledge of God’s existence