Let religion and philosophy co-exist

There have been numerous philosophers and philosophies since the pre-Socratic era. We have discussed many philosophies in these columns only to show that no philosophy is foolproof or valid for all times. What Socrates taught his pupils have been challenged by later generations. Aristotle differed from the philosophical views held by his guru Plato. It is the nature of philosophy. Certain philosophical truths are in vogue and valid only for a limited time. Like everything else in the world, philosophical ideas are also subject to change from time to time.

The position of religious truths appears to be quite different. What the Buddha, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed taught some millennia ago remain true even today. In such a scenario, is there a necessity for people to indulge in Philosophy? The answers may differ from person to person. However, the fact remains that philosophers will be born in every age and they will have a following as well.

The curiosities of Western philosophy are endless. A survey of the debates between philosophers and religious leaders, mainly in the Western world, shows that no system of philosophy is perfect. At the beginning Absolute Idealism was thought to be a comprehensive system of philosophy.

However, after some time it proved to be defective. Yet, down the centuries, philosophers never hesitated to come up with novel theories about life and the universe. Then people flock to them thinking that their theories would unlock every door.

Rationalists

But this never happens. What happens in philosophy is that someone stumbles upon something that has long been ignored by others. For instance, the Rationalists of the 17th century promoted clear thinking through rational demonstration.

Two centuries later the Idealists veered away from it and felt the need to relate the whole experience to an ultimate spiritual cause. Soren Kierkegaard exposed the falsity of theories expressed by the Idealists.

Simply because philosophy is something that is always challenged by later generations, it does not render itself a useless subject. On the contrary, we have learnt many great philosophical ideas and we have become critical thinkers over the years. Just as there is no single person, except the Buddha or God who knows everything, no philosophy is all-embracing. The philosophical theories and approaches are tentative and provisional. By exposing ourselves to philosophical ideas, we become wiser.

Ibn Rushd, popularly known in Europe as Averroes, was a rare philosopher who tried to reconcile religious and philosophical truths. He thought that only educated people are capable of thinking philosophically and that remains true even today. He said the Holy Qur’an provided a poetic approximation of the truth as far as the universe was concerned.

This was something intelligible to the people. However, he said that highly educated people had a religious obligation to use philosophical reasoning. In essence, he believed that philosophy and religion are not incompatible.

Unorthodox

Averroes was interested in Aristotle’s philosophy and he paraphrased some of the latter’s work. His unorthodox philosophy did not appeal to the public. As a result, his books were banned and he exiled himself in 1195.

Although he was shunned by his fellow Muslims, his works have been translated into Hebrew and Latin. The translations influenced Jewish and Latin scholars who accepted Aristotle as interpreted by Averroes as the truth according to reason.

Colin Brown in Philosophy and the Christian Faith has warned people to be on their guard against aligning Christianity too closely with any one particular philosophy. However, some thinkers find it fashionable to reinterpret Christianity in the light of philosophy.

One of the great values of secular philosophy is the stimulus it gives to religious thinkers to rethink their position. The wisest course of action is to take a cool, hard look at every new trend in philosophy and evaluate it in the light of our experience and faith. In such a situation religion and philosophy will co-exist in harmony.